Betrayal Of Minato
by hyuuga's pale rose
Summary: NaruHina:what would it be like if Naruto had found the other jinchurriki? what if they weren't human anymore... rated for language and blood in plot. also beware of extreme randomness and lemons in the future
1. Chapter 1

Summary: what would it be like if Naruto had found the other eight jinchurriki? What if they weren't human anymore… rated T for language and blood somewhere in the plot. Also beware of extreme randomness.

_Hey guys! I am so psyched about this story! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Some of the characters I use here will be from my other story. Don't go looking for them yet cause they aren't in that story yet. I just knew that I would have characters like that in the story line. Also remember the following:_

_Italicized means flashback/dream_

_' ' means thoughts_

_"" means talking _

_**'bold'** means Kyuubi is talking_

_Please review. Be nice. Be constructive. And no flaming. Now just sit back and enjoy the story k?_

_Note: I do not own Naruto. Also, some Akatsuki members are different and they are all alive right now. Also, although I hate Naruto's parent's names, I will have them in here for your benefit. However, I'm am changing their last names. His dad's last name will be Uzumaki while his mother's will be Sukei. Do NOT bitch at me for this! I have read the manga story line, but this is the way I want my fan fiction damnit!_

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 1

_Three people stood in a prison cell looking at the broken man before them. A table had been placed in the room for this specific form of torture. _

_One of the three, a woman, went up to the table and picked up a heavy piece of silver. It was an odd piece; it was circular and had four holes in the back for who knows what. In the middle of the silver stood out a picture of a red kitsune with rubies for the eyes. She stared at it for a moment. _

_Her partner walked up to her and said, "Come on Rin, finish it all ready. I want to hear him scream._

_She turned to him and giggled, "Be patient Obito-kun. Sensei, are you sure you want to watch the chakra subjugation?"_

_The other man walked towards the man chained to the wall and whispered in his ear, "Naruto, you must understand that I'm doing this for you and your mother." he then took a step back and waited._

_Rin stepped toward him this time and placed a hand on Naruto's stomach. After she calculated exactly where the perimeter of the seal was, she jammed the silver into Naruto's abdomen._

_Four metal coils emerged from the holes in the back of the silver and penetrated through the skin, and wrapping themselves around his intestines. It then proceeded to drain him and the Kyuubi of their chakra._

_Naruto let out a scream of agony as the metal continued to coil around his guts. He then fell unconscious from the pain and lack of chakra._

On the heart monitor, Naruto Uzumaki's heart beat quickened.

**Next scene please!**

Tsunade sat solemnly at her desk waiting for the remaining Konoha twelve to arrive. She had a mission for them that she knew they would accept. However in accepting the mission, they would have to know the secret.

A knock came at the door and Sakura was the first to walk in. She was followed by Ino, Kiba, Tenten, Lee, and Shino. They were all told to sit down and wait as well.

Minutes later, the other four came in and sat down.

Once they were all settled, Tsunade spoke. "I have a mission for you all. Well, it's not really a mission as it is a request. The mission is about Naruto."

Everyone looked up in surprise.

She continued, "It entails medical jutsu and being a possible body guard, but mainly they have asked for your company. Do you accept?"

"Yes," they all replied.

"Excuse me Tsunade-sama, but who are 'they'?" Sakura asked.

"Well, Naruto has a team of his own now Sakura. However, they have found themselves in a predicament and ask for your assistance."

"Troublesome. Why do we need to be there if he has his own teammates?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade sighed, "You'll find out the specifics when you get there. Now shut up for a second. I have something to tell you all…"

They all awaited for her to continue.

She sat there for a minute, contemplating how to tell them as delicately as possible.

"Do you know what happened the day the Kyuubi attacked?"

The ten of them looked bewildered by the sudden question but nodded all the same.

The Hokage continued, "You all know what happened to the Fourth, but do you know why?"

No one answered her.

"Well, the Fourth was not able to kill the Kyuubi, so he sealed him into a newborn baby. By doing this, the person would be able to contain the demon's chakra and keep the fox as a…tenant in his own body."

A few gasps were emitted from the girls while the others stiffened.

"Forgive me for interrupting Hokage-sama, but what does this have to do with the mission?" came Neji's voice.

"I'm getting to that. Now let me ask you all this: Do you know when Naruto's birthday is?"

They all looked at each other to see if they knew.

A small voice came from the back of the room, "October tenth, the same day the Kyuubi attacked."

"That's right Hinata. That day, the fourth decided to take a baby born that day: Naruto."

Everyone froze. Their friend, the loud-mouthed, dead last loser was the Kyuubi?

Sakura and Hinata were the first ones to recover.

Hinata asked, "So is that why the villagers hated him even abused him? Because he was the jailer of a demon?"

Tsunade looked at her for a second. "You're correct again Hinata. Although he wasn't responsible for the Kyuubi's actions, the villagers still treated Naruto as the monster."

Sakura was crying at this point. She was remembering when her mother and the other parents had shunned Naruto when they went to the park. Sakura herself had turned her shoulder to him since they were little kids. She herself had been so cruel to him as to put him down and down trod his dreams.

Everyone was remembering past experiences with the blonde ninja. Now they all realized how important becoming Hokage had been to him. It was to prove that he wasn't a demon, that he could be a strong and good person without the Kyuubi.

Tsunade looked at the scene before her nervously. She told them, "You know you can always resign from the mission."

"No!" they all shouted.

This took the Hokage by surprise.

"That's so horrible, being blamed for something he didn't do!" called Ino.

"Yeah, that's so unfair what the villagers did to him. We all know what a good heart he has!" said Chouji.

Everyone agreed to this statement. They all had missions with Naruto that showed his courage and his will to protect the village.

Tsunade stared at them for a minute shocked. Then her face broke into a warm smile.

"I'm glad you all feel that way about this. Now there is something else. An organization called Akatsuki has been after Naruto so that they can obtain the Kyuubi's chakra. Although his team of jinchurriki can protect him, they have asked for your assistance in guarding him."

Tenten then looked up confused. "What are jinchurriki Tsunade-san?"

"They are people who have had bijuu, the tailed demons sealed inside them. Naruto has found the other eight jinchurriki and have become a team. Since you all are going, it would be best not to anger the others. They can't all be as controlled as Naruto."

Some shivered at this.

Sakura then remembered something that Tsunade had said. "Tsunade-sama, you said that the Fourth decided to have Naruto be the container. How could he have known that Naruto was born that day? He might have been Hokage, but he couldn't possibly keep tabs on every woman that was in labor."

Tsunade sighed. "I'm sorta glad you asked that Sakura. You're right that he didn't keep tabs on every pregnant woman. But he didn't have to seeming as it was his own wife that gave birth to Naruto."

A very awkward silence followed her reply.

"So…"

You mean…"

"Naruto is…"

"The Fourth is…"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

Tsunade cringed at the volume. She composed herself and stated, "Yes, Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage. If you don't believe me I have a picture of when they were both twelve…"

She then started rummaging around in one of the drawers in her desk. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled out two photographs. One was a picture of Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi. The other was a picture of a mini version of the Fourth with two other kids and Jiraiya in the background.

They had to admit that the resemblance was definetly there.

"Well, when do we leave?" asked Shino

"I'm not sure, one of his teammates is coming to escort you--"

"How about now." came a voice from behind them.

It was a woman about the age of twenty or so with long aqua colored hair and side bangs. Her hair also had three stripes of yellow in it. She towered over them at the height of five ft. ten in. Although these things attributed to it, the thing that was most intimidating about her was her eyes. They were bright yellow and she had slits for pupils.

Tsunade looked at her and smiled. "You must be Nahara (_I know I suck at names)_. It's a pleasure to meet you. Guys, this is Naruto's co-captain of the group and she'll be escorting you."

Nahara nodded her head in what they guessed was their hello.

"Go pack your bags and be at the front gate in twenty minutes." she said coldly. She then walked briskly out of the room.

**Fin**

_So how was it? I hope it was long enough. I know I had trouble with that in my other story. Please R&R people. i really want to know what you think of it so far (although nothing really happened did it?). I promise to update soon guys._

_hyuuga's pale rose_


	2. Chapter 2

_I know many of you were like what the fuck. Well, I realize how crappy the first chap was and I'm sorry for that! I really am! But don't worry cause this is the kind of fic that drags on and explains itself in time. So please don't give up on it! I hope the second chap is better to you guys…_

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 2

The sky was darkening as the ten ninja walked towards the gate. Leaning on the side of the wall was Nahara.

Without looking at the group she barked, "You're two minutes late! Do they teach you to slack off?"

Hinata flinched at the iciness of her tone.

"What the heck is your problem?" asked Kiba.

Nahara was still for a minute. Then she disappeared. The next thing Kiba knew he was three feet above the ground and the air was being forced from his lungs. Nahara held his throat in a death grip while her eyes burned an unnatural gold color.

Akamaru barked his protest.

"My problem, you insolent dog, is that I have to baby sit ten ignorant humans for three days." she spat.

Her nails started digging into his neck before she finally let go of him. Akamaru ran to Kiba and continued to growl.

"You know, my orders were not to eat any of the humans. They didn't say anything about dogs." she said matter of factly.

When she said this Akamaru backed off instantly and began to whimper.

Nahara turned to see the other's petrified stares.

"What are you looking at? Start walking already!" she ordered.

They all did as they were told and Nahara watched as Kiba scrambled to his feet and ran to catch up to the others.

"Great. Three absolutely lovely days with this bunch of losers. Don't know how Naruto keeps such company…" Nahara muttered darkly.

**Scene change**

The gang had been hiking for about seven hours. Strangely enough, the girls were enjoying this walk. All they would do is ask Nahara questions. Now it was just getting annoying.

"So Nahara… where'd you get your hair done? I love the highlights." said Ino.

No answer.

"Are you a ninja or are you just…you know." Sakura asked awkwardly.

Again no answer.

"Hey Nahara--" Ino was cut off by Nahara.

"Okay, Ino and Sakura right? Do you mind shutting up? Because I really don't care to listen to you talk about your nails, or your shampoo, or your stupid careers alright? I'm pretty sure the boys are in hell listening to you two yack."

She stalked off. Ino and Sakura fell silent.

Although it was true what she said, the guys couldn't help but think what a bitch this girl was. Kiba decided to voice his thoughts.

"Raaaawr, talk about pms."

A whistling sound went through the air. The tree he had been standing in front of now had a kunai stuck in it. And it was located right where his crotch was.

He looked down with a horror struck face while the girls were laughing their asses off. Kiba gulped. The other guys gathered around him.

Kiba stuttered, "I-is it…a-are they…"

Lee stepped up and tried to remove the kunai, but it wouldn't budge.

"Say that again, and I won't be nice enough to miss."

They all looked to see Nahara leaning against a tree while twirling a kunai in her hand. She then continued to walk through the woods.

Kiba gulped again. Man was she scary. Kinda hot, but scary.

With the help of the others, the kunai was out and the party continued on.

_(okay just warning you that this chapter and most of next chapter will be about this group. Thought you should know…)_

**Scene 3**

It was getting dark and the group hadn't stopped to rest since the incident involving Kiba. Neji was now walking beside Nahara.

"Excuse me Nahara-san, but where exactly are we going?" he asked.

She was silent at first. "We're going to the edge of the fire country. Our nerd of the group, Mitsuki, calculated that the portal to the demon realm would open in three days at the north western part of the fire country."

"Huh?" the others were now listening intently.

Nahara looked between them and asked, "Does Tsunade tell you anything?"

When no one answered she sighed, "Let's go make camp. Since your so ignorant, I might as well fill you in."

After a few more minutes of walking, they found a clearing and began pitching the tents. Neji and Lee had gone to get firewood and in no time the fire was blazing brightly. Hinata and Tenten started the food while the others sat around the fire, staring into space.

After everyone was settled and eating, Nahara asked, "So what do you guys know?"

"All Tsunade told us was that our company was requested by Naruto and his team of jinchurriki. She didn't tell us where we were going or who exactly the team was." Neji answered.

Nahara sighed. 'This is going to take a while.'

"Well, where you're going is a sort of…how to explain…I guess you could call it a different dimension. To you I suppose it would be hell. The dimension we're going is where all the demons reside."

The food in Lee's mouth fell back into his bowl. Shino had set down his chopsticks and Neji found himself staring at her. Were they crazy? Sending them to a demon inhabited environment?

Seeing their faces she continued, "Don't worry. You are going to be staying close to us. That way, no one is going to try anything. Also the kitsunes are what you might call vegetarian. They only hunt animals, not humans."

"Nahara-san, aren't the kitsunes--" Hinata began.

"Yes, that is the clan the Kyuubi started when the bijuu were created."

There was silence around the fire.

"So, what's this team of yours like? Who are the members?" Shino asked quietly.

Nahara stared into space for a moment thinking of what to say. She began, "Well, there are nine members. You know the first one I believe. His name is Gaara and he is the jinchurriki of the one-tailed raccoon dog. His specialty is torture."

Everyone nodded in agreement at this. When they had met Gaara, he was a cold and blood thirsty guy. His eyes alone were enough to scare the shit out of people.

Nahara continued, "The second member, Mitsuki, is the container of the two-tailed stag (_please bear with me. The manga hasn't actually revealed all the bijuu. Although the Nibi is two-tailed in the manga, I'm switching it for the sake of my fanfic.). _He's the medic of our group. Kovu (_suck at names, suck at names_) has the three-tailed turtle demon sealed inside him. He's really good at ninjutsu. Now the four-tailed tiger demon is sealed in our weapon specialist, Eureka. She also happens to be Naruto's cousin."

"What!?!"

Nahara looked at them like they were the most retarded people on earth. She just rolled her eyes and growled, "You don't know anything do you? Never mind, don't answer that. That's a story for her to tell you."

"Anyway, Eureka's twin brother, Tonji (_I seriously couldn't think of anything! However, I am sorry if the names are burning holes through your eyes._) is sealed with the five-tailed wolf demon and his specialty is stealth and tracking missions. Our taijutsu specialist has the six-tailed horse demon (_sorry about the horse crap. The idea was for them to have their own elemental powers and I wanted something really powerful to deal with earth jutsu._) and her name is Naomi. I am sealed with the seven-tailed crocodile demon and I'm the strategist of the group. The other member you haven't met is Kiara. She is our genjutsu specialist and has the eight tailed raven sealed in her (_now I know birds have feathers, so just imagine a giant raven with eight tail feathers kay. Sorry, I made it a bird for the elemental crap again_). Then there's Naruto, the nine-tailed fox's jinchuurikki who specializes in elemental jutsu." Nahara took a deep breath.

Everyone was quiet. It's not everyday that you find out that your friend and his team house the most powerful demons in the world.

"So, how has Naruto been doing the past six years?" asked Shikamaru.

Nahara didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on the fire and had what the group thought was sadness in her eyes.

"God, Tsunade really doesn't tell you anything..." she muttered.

Without answering the question, she stood up and walked into the woods while shouting, "I'll take watch."

By this time, everyone was confused. What was wrong with Naruto?

**Fin**

_Oops. I guess I didn't tell you that it was six years later. Hahahahahaha, I can be so oblivious sometimes. Well, if you're wondering, I was planning on it being a week from Naruto's birthday k? I hope you enjoyed. Sorry about the names again. _

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright people. Sorry about the wait. My computers have been crashing so I have to get on a computer at school to type. Honestly, that's not very easy. Anyway, I know that a few of you like the story and want to see way more of it, but this is a story that I type when I have really bad writers block for my other stories. That would be the second reason why there aren't so many updates. Please don't give up on it though. I'm trying to juggle between six fics right now. I'm also trying to make this one of my top priorities on fan Well, I hope you enjoy the third chap. Sorry for the wait!_

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 3

The embers of the fire were slowly dying out. It was nearing twilight, and still, Nahara hadn't returned from her post.

Hinata lay restless in her sleeping bag. She had been up all night pondering on what was wrong with Naruto. What exactly did this mission entail? She finally got up, grabbed her jacket, and went for a walk.

A few yards away from camp, a voice called out to her.

"Couldn't sleep Hyuuga?" Nahara jumped down from the tree behind her.

Hinata turned around in surprise and shook her head.

"You want to know right?" she asked.

"W-what?"

Nahara looked down solemnly, "What's wrong with Naruto. You wanted to know. I could tell you, but don't tell the others. They might want to back out."

Hinata nodded.

Nahara took a long pause.

"Well…awhile back…Naruto had an…accident involving some humans. He was badly wounded when we found him. After we recovered him, he…he went into a coma before he could tell us exactly what happened to him. That was six months ago." Nahara looked up with sadness in her eyes. "We wanted you to come because our medic isn't able to wake him. We especially came for you and your ability as a Hyuuga to heal chakra systems. I was told to send for all of you though, because we don't know how Naruto will react to human contact. I know he won't like it at first, but maybe if he stays with you guys for awhile, he'll learn to trust humans again." she paused, "Granted, that doesn't mean I will be nice to you humans. Well, except you. We both want to save our friend." she added.

Hinata stood there, eyes wide, trying to absorb this information. Her Naruto…in a coma? What could have possibly have happened for him to be in that state?

Nahara pleaded, "Please don't tell them. At least not until we reach the kitsune clan."

Without even looking at her, Hinata nodded and walked back to her sleeping bag.

"Nahara-san, I promise I won't say anything. You can count on me to do whatever I can to help Naruto-kun. We've got to stick together to achieve our common goal." Hinata called back to her.

Nahara watched her go.

'Naruto, you better hang in there. It's for friends like her that you are fighting for.' she thought. Nahara then returned to her post.

**And cut. Now on to act 3 scene 2.**

A man at the age of twenty-three pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose as he analyzed the body before him. He wore a lab coat and gloves as he tried healing the open wounds that were spread out over various places. His white and green streaked hair fell in his face as he surged more green chakra into his palms. His emerald green eyes focused harder in concentration on the visible arteries he was trying to repair. His actions were futile however.

With a yell of outrage he tore off his gloves and slammed his fist on the table.

"It's no use! Every time I try to heal Naruto, the platelets won't clot his arteries! I'll have to do another transfusion with all the blood he's losing today."

He walked over to the door of the sterile room and called out, "Eureka, Tonji! Can you come here a minute? He needs another transfusion. Bring Gaara too."

The man walked over to the corner cabinet and grabbed a fresh pair of gloves. He also took out two needles, tubes, alcohol wipes, and some gauze out.

From behind him, two men and a woman walked in.

Eureka had long black flowing hair, bright green eyes and was five ft. five in. She wore some worn out jeans and a light pink shirt. Her twin brother Tonji was the exact same, save that his hair was shorter, he was a few centimeters taller and he wore a deep blue shirt.. Both were at the age of twenty-two.

Gaara walked in behind them. He looked the same as he did when he was younger. His red hair was longer now and he was five ft. nine in. His attire was a blood red shirt with black cargo pants.

Eureka and Tonji took seats against the wall for the blood transfusion.

"So, he's not getting better Mitsuki?" Eureka asked the man in the coat.

_(This is where it gets graphic. If you can't handle it, skip it.)_

Mitsuki sighed. "He hasn't been getting better since we found him six months ago. Every time I try to heal him, he only seems to worsen. After analyzing the chakra subjugation technique used more closely, I believe that it's injecting some poison that is causing the platelets in his blood stream to dissolve. On top of that, many of his bones are exposed to the environment, which is why we need to keep the room sterile, lest he get an infection. I'm starting to think the humane thing to do is just kill him now."

Mitsuki felt gently for a vein in Eureka's arm. Once one was found, he wiped her arm with the alcohol and inserted the needle. Blood slowly started dripping into the tube.

"How can you say that! Naruto is everything to this team, this family! He found each and every one of us, understood our pain and persecution. He changed us from blood thirsty demons to hospitable human beings. He's the one who's changed our whole outlook on life. You can't just kill him over a few injuries!" Eureka screamed.

Mitsuki let out a sigh of frustration and moved over to Naruto's bed. He removed the cloth off of Naruto.

"We've been over this Eureka. They aren't just simple injuries! Naruto's body has suffered multiple wounds in vital areas. For instance, this slash to the main artery in his neck," Mitsuki pointed to the deep angular slash on the left side of Naruto's neck, "The sword wound across his lung and heart. His left arm was almost ripped off by Kisame's blade. His right hand has a hole you can see through from Deidara,s bombs.." Mitsuki pointed to each wound as he named them. "Not to mention he almost lost his entire right arm from the gash on his shoulder. He also," Mitsuki carefully picked Naruto up so that his back was visible. Every vertebrae was visible from his neck to his lower back. "has his spinal cord showing, no doubt Sasori's doing." He set Naruto down gently so as not to paralyze him. "Naruto also has both legs shattered with only a few shreds of skin holding his legs together. It's a miracle he could even escape with the damage done by Rin. Also, if you haven't noticed, he has suffered a minor concussion. And last but not least Eureka, the chakra subjugation. This piece of metal is absorbing Kyuubi's chakra. And as you know, the only way to save Naruto is using Kyuubi's chakra to repair the cells and neutralize the poison. You also know that I've tried waking Naruto's consciousness and removing the technique so the healing can start. However, I'm incapable of entering Naruto's chakra channels because no demon chakra can get in or out of his body until the metal is removed. And I know what you're thinking. Sure, I could easily just cut the coils. But, the problem with that is that the metal has been in contact with the chakra reservoirs for too long. In cutting the coils, all the concentrated chakra would make an explosion of around fifty kilometers I'm guessing. Do you see why it would be better for him if I put him down. As his family, didn't you want him to die painlessly?"

Eureka sat there staring at Naruto's mangled form with tears in her eyes. She didn't answer the question.

Mitsuki removed the needle from Eureka after collecting ten tubes of type O blood. He emptied the blood into an IV bag and attached it to Naruto's IV needle in his right arm. Mitsuki then turned to Tonji to extract extra blood for another transfusion later on.

As Mitsuki worked, Gaara leaned against the wall and pondered Mitsuki's analysis.

"Oh, Gaara. I almost forgot. Would you go meet Nahara and company halfway? Help bring them back faster. I have a portal summoner in one of the drawers so they don't have to wait the full three day period. If they're not here by the end of the week, I'll go ahead and euphemize Naruto." Mitsuki told him.

Gaara nodded and turned to leave. He paused before he opened the door.

"You shouldn't look at the situation so scientifically Mitsuki. Reality tends to mess with the heart. Don't worry so much about Naruto. He's a fighter. He's not going to give up so easily. But if it makes you feel better, I'll meet up with them."

He then exited the room.

**That's a rap. Next scene now.**

The sun was rising higher in the sky by the second as the Konoha party marched through the forest around the fire country border.

All morning Hinata and Nahara walked close together, as if they had an understanding of some sort. They didn't talk, just walked at a fast pace. Neji had been watching their body language for any sign that would explain this new attitude of theirs. However, neither Nahara or Hinata had let up their façade.

After awhile, a few of the group started to lag behind. The trees started to become fewer and the sun beat down on them with newly found heat and light. Finally Nahara called for a break.

Nahara looked up toward the sun and sighed, "Looks like we made good time. We're almost at the check point and it's only the second day."

Hinata nodded and sat against a large tree.

'Naruto-kun…I promise you I'll do whatever I can to help you. That's my nindo. Just hold on. I'm coming.' she thought as she looked toward the clouds.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a low growl from Akamaru. Turning her head, she saw the enormous dog crouched next to a bush just staring into the shadows.

"Oi, Akamaru, what's up?" Kiba asked the dog as it bared it's teeth to let out a menacing snarl.

Then a small blur of brown jumped from the bushes and was racing toward Nahara. Akamaru barked and pounced on the thing and bit down hard on it's flesh. Immediately a shriek came from the little bundle and Nahara punched Akamaru in the gut, effectively making him let go of the little animal. Nahara gingerly picked it up and cradled it.

"Can't you keep control over that thing! It almost killed this messenger raccoon!" she screamed at Kiba.

Kiba couldn't believe that THING was a raccoon. For one, it was almost the same size as Akamaru. It also had brown, not gray, coloring to it. The thing had huge ears and a long tail. It's eyes were a beady black and were shaped as diamonds. _(think of shukaku in the anime) _It also seemed to be made of sand. And where there should have been red blood from the puncture wounds, there was a black tar like substance oozing from it. Although he had never seen one before in his life, he knew this was some sort of demon.

Nahara sat down with it and took her canteen out. She unscrewed it and with one hand made a motion to pull out the water. The water seemed to come alive as Nahara's hand guided it. Once all the water was pulled from the canteen, it started to glow green. She helped the water flow to the wounds on the raccoon demon. As soon as the glowing water touched the wounds, they healed instantly.

Everyone stood in awe as Nahara continued to heal the demon. Never before had they seen element manipulation without using hand signs and a proper jutsu.

Tenten walked a little closer and asked, "Nahara-san, what's that glowing?"

Nahara didn't look up as she continued her work, "It's some of my special water infused with some of Mitsuki's healing chakra. I take it with me when I'm on solo missions just in case something happens."

She set down the demon and cooed, "Does that feel better? You can't be older than two years. Did Gaara send you?"

The demon nodded and licked Nahara's hand. It then revealed a tiny scroll around it's neck.

Nahara picked up the scroll and read quietly. She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

She looked up and announced, "Looks like plans have changed. We're going to the demon realm now. Pack your things. Gaara's meeting us at the check point."

**Fin.**

_Finally finished this sucker. Damn, now I've got a kink in my neck from hovering over the computer screen so long. Well, I hope you enjoyed the third chap. Please review people. I'm begging you! I want to know what you think. Well, Merry Christmas, Happy 2008, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Honokaa, and anything else I missed. Peace out._

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	4. Chapter 4

_Can you believe it's already February?! Great news people. I have now finished my side stories so now I'm working on four stories! And I have a break from one because my co-writer hasn't updated her chapter yet! So now I have more time for this fic! Anyway, I thank you all for waiting patiently and I hope you enjoy the next part of Betrayal of Minato._

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 4

Gaara looked toward the darkening sky as he waited for Nahara to bring the Konoha ninjas that had been requested. The clouds had mercilessly covered the sun in it's dark shroud. The sand master closed his eyes as it started to sprinkle and sighed. All truth be told, he was worried about Naruto. If his old friends couldn't help his recovery, no one could. His ears twitched as he heard his messenger raccoon trot up to his side with Nahara following close behind.

Everyone was quiet as they followed Nahara towards what they assumed was Gaara. They were all curious as to the change of plans, but it had Hinata worried. Had something happened to Naruto?

Gaara opened his eyes and turned to face the silent party. He nodded toward them in greeting and pulled out the portal summoner Mitsuki had given him. Biting his thumb, he opened the scroll and wrote their destination in an older form of kanji that the group of humans couldn't read. Then surging his demon chakra into the scroll, a black and red swirling mass erupted from the scroll.

Nahara addressed everyone, "Alright, so that no one gets lost in a different dimension, I want you all single file and to hold onto the person next to you."

Everyone heeded the warning and got into a single file line while grasping each other's hands.

"How about you lead and I'll take the rear?" Nahara suggested to Gaara.

After receiving a nod from the red head, she went to her post at the back of the line. Sadly this happened to be where Kiba was standing.

Gaara went to the front and grabbed Hinata's hand.

"Get ready for some turbulence." He murmured.

The swirling mass became larger and Hinata felt herself being jerked upward to it as Gaara leapt from the ground. All the girls screamed in surprise as a huge gust of wind tried to pull them apart. Akamaru bit tighter into Shino's hand and Kiba in turn gripped his tail harder.

It was an odd sensation. To many of the Konoha nin, it felt as if the wind was trying to tear them apart from the inside out. It became especially noticeable to Neji and Hinata as they tried activating their blood line technique. They were able to see that the walls were flowing with chakra, no doubt Gaara's chakra sustaining the portal.

The walls around them swirled in color and seemed to be closing in on them, as if deliberately suffocating them. Lee was on the verge of passing out and Chouji had the urge to hurl from the continuous spinning. Shikamaru tried closing his eyes, but it seemed to make the horrible pounding in his head to increase.

Gaara looked back to make sure no one had been separated. He was surprised and relieved that none had strayed from their destination.

"We're almost there!" Gaara called back to them against the howl of the wind. "Just hold on tight now! You're going to feel a little shock as we pass through the barrier."

And so it was. However, what was a little shock to the jinchurriki felt like bolts of lightning for the rest. It took all Hinata had to not let go and scream out in pain.

And then it was all over.

**Insert next scene.**

Neji's breathing became uneasy as he and the others fell hard to the ground. He gasped in air as he felt his lungs contract. After regaining himself, he looked up from the dirt. He stared on in shock at what he saw.

The sky was blood red as a black moon cascaded its dark rays over the seemingly black foliage. It felt like a rain forest with the humid air engulfing them. The only difference would be that this forest was dead silent. No crickets, no restless birds. Not even a lizard was seen stirring in the dead leaves.

Neji stood silently too, as if he were afraid of angering whatever creatures were lurking in the dense trees. The others stood as well and gawked at their unknown surroundings. No one noticed Nahara and Gaara moving through the huge roots and large bushes.

"Are you going to stand there, or are you coming with us? I suggest the latter. You never know whose watching and whose hungry…" Nahara yelled back to them.

This remark stimulated their pace, despite their exhaustion from the trip over here. They made their way through the tricky vines and roots for the next few hours in silence.

Finally Gaara called for them to make camp in a clearing they came across. It took them longer to set up the tents from an entire day of walking and the strenuous trip over here.

After she was sure everyone had fallen asleep, Hinata found her chance to ask Nahara about the situation.

She found her and Gaara sitting in a tall tree analyzing their surroundings. Hinata focused her chakra in her feet and started walking up the trunk to the branch they were sitting in. Instinctively the two turned their heads towards her.

"I was wondering when you'd corner me to ask Hinata." Nahara told the girl and motioned for her to sit next to her.

Gaara looked on confused at Nahara's rare action of kindness toward a human.

Nahara caught glimpse of the look on his face and merely stated, "She already knows."

Gaara narrowed his gaze at Hinata and also encouraged her to take a seat. She hesitated, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer to her unvoiced question. Sensing the hesitation, Nahara took the initiative and yanked Hinata down by the wrist. Hinata let out a small scream of protest but still found herself sitting next to the woman. Nahara looked glumly at her and shifted her gaze to the black moon. Without looking at Hinata, she answered the question that was running through her head.

"Naruto's not doing so well. You probably already guessed that right?" without waiting for an answer, she continued in a whisper, "Well, the truth is, he's getting worse. Mitsuki wishes to euphemize him."

Gaara watched his team mate's face contort from frustration to sadness. He looked back to his folded hands, where the letter Mitsuki gave him was being crumpled. He unfurled it and read it again.

'_Naruto is failing faster by the day…am unable to reach his consciousness…bring the troop by the end of the week…if unsuccessful, I have no other choice but to humanely euphemize him.'_

Gaara sighed. Mitsuki made it out to sound like Naruto was just some animal. Gaara knew that the medic's job was to be professional, but…even so…he thought Mitsuki could show a bit of compassion.

Hinata could only stare on the landscape in shock and anger. She curled her fists tightly in her lap and her eyes welled up with tears. If Naruto was in such bad condition, why were they resting instead of pressing forward? Why were they just sitting here?!

"Why did you tell us to make camp then? If he's in that much danger, why aren't we there already?!"

She received no answer.

"Why are you just sitting there, waiting for him to die?" she whispered as a tear fell to her cheek.

Nahara looked at her and answered, "Because Naruto would never forgive us if something happened to his friends…to you because we were careless and rushed into things. But, if you could elaborate…how does one human care for someone so much?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she blushed a little. She thought long and hard of her answer. Nahara looked at her curiously awaiting the answer. Gaara even listened in too.

Hinata gulped nervously, "W-well…Naruto-kun has always been special. He was there for me more times than I can count. He was my strength, even if he didn't know it. Since we were little, I've wanted to help him achieve his dreams." She bowed her head in embarrassment, "He's my best friend and a good person. I-I want to help him no matter what!"

Gaara side glanced at the shy girl and smirked. Nahara lowered her gaze and smiled.

"So you love him?" she asked, her own evil smirk growing.

Hinata blushed brighter and started sputtering incoherent sentences. Nahara laughed at her antics.

"Well, it would seem we both share the same feelings…only mine are of brotherly love. I can totally agree with you Hinata. He is special. Heck, he found a way to bring me out of my bloodthirsty shell. He understood my pain better than anyone and helped me through it. He looked past my transgressions. He's made me…all of our team actually…better people. He's given me something I've never experienced before…friendship and a family. I'm forever grateful to him. I finally have a purpose on this earth where I'm not a weapon used for war. Because of those things, I'll do whatever I can to protect him. He is family after all." She looked over at Gaara and elbowed him in the ribs, "Isn't that right Gaara?"

Gaara merely shrugged.

Nahara leaned over to Hinata and whispered, "He might not say anything but he feels the same way I do." She winked and added, "Heh, I knew I liked you. We both share the same goal after all!"

Hinata smiled sweetly and nodded.

The jinchurriki bent her head and leaned over the side of the tree, "Even though I agree that we should get moving, you all need your rest. And don't worry so much. If we keep a steady pace, we should reach the kitsune clan gates by tomorrow afternoon…that is if everyone gets some sleep." She looked over accusingly at Hinata, "How do you expect to help Naruto when you're exhausted?"

Hinata glanced over and scowled, "How can I not worry? And how can I possibly sleep at a time like this? Besides, I'm not even…" her sentence was interrupted by an unsuspecting yawn coming from the Hyuuga.

Nahara raised an eyebrow and her gold eyes shimmered in amusement.

"Tired?" she asked innocently while cocking her head to the side.

Hinata frowned and shook her head.

For the first time, Gaara interceded the conversation, "As Nahara-chan said, how will you be of any use to Naruto with bags under your eyes?"

Hinata was about to protest once again but thought better of it. She slowly nodded and stood up, brushing the excess dirt from her ninja pants. The three exchanged their silent good nights and Hinata started climbing down the tree.

The two demon containers watched her enter her tent and returned back to staring at the moon. In a few nights it would be full.

Nahara smirked and whispered to her partner, "Well what do ya know? What those Sukei twins said was right. Match made in heaven, don't cha think Gaara-kun?"

Gaara's eyes glinted in amusement.

"Yeah, Naruto's lucky to have found his soul-mate at such an early age. Do you think Naruto will break his façade and finally date her?" he asked the girl next to him.

Nahara replied, "Not a chance. He's too afraid she'll get caught up in this mess and be killed. He doesn't seem to realize that Hinata's been a part of this ordeal since they were born." She looked at him and poked his shoulder, "You know what we've got to do, right Mr. Matchmaker?"

Gaara shrugged, "I might be good, but I'm not good enough to sway Naruto's opinion."

Nahara poked him harder this time.

"Aw come on. We've got to help them! What else is family for Gaara-kun? At least do it for your 'big sis'?" she looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

Gaara grimaced and blinked furiously. He then nodded.

"Good." Nahara said as she pushed him slightly.

He smirked and pushed her back, almost causing her to fall out of the tree.

**Next scene.**

Hinata woke to find the tent she was sharing with her fellow kunoichi empty. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and trudged outside to find everyone packing up their stuff. In one sudden rush, she remembered her conversation last night and retreated to the tent to get dressed with new vigor.

A few minutes later, Ino, Sakura, and Tenten helped pack up the tent and the rest of their stray belongings.

When everyone was ready to go, Gaara lead the way to the kitsune clan. As the sun rose, the sky turned a light blue with purple tints to it. The sun shone its bright orange rays on the teenagers as they trekked through the seemingly endless woods. The party stopped a few times in the morning to replenish their water supplies and to rest their aching feet. However, each time it was always the same three people that were attentive and ready to go; Gaara, Nahara, and Hinata.

Neji was still suspicious of the sudden change in attitude of both females. He had tried consulting with his cousin's team and his own, but none of them seemed to find anything strange about it. He sighed in frustration. Sooner or later, he would find out what it was that caused his cousin to form a friendship with a seemingly unsociable person.

In the meantime, the day got muggier as the sun made its daily cycle and came to its halfway point. Many of the group were still exhausted due to fear of falling asleep with such unfamiliar surroundings. Hinata took a swig from her water bottle and gazed out on the horizon of trees. This forest seemed endless. Not to mention abnormal. Although it was day time, there were still no signs of wildlife. It deeply disturbed her for some reason.

Her thoughts were broken as they heard a feral snarl come from the trees above them. Deep green eyes with contracted pupils glared down at them from the black leaves. The figure emitted another growl of warning. Some of the smarter men of the group (Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, and Shino) started to back down. The kunoichi were so terrified by this sudden intrusion that they couldn't move.

Hinata for some odd reason felt not afraid of whatever it was, but merely curious.

Gaara stared incredulously at the figure in the tree and shouted, "Relax Tohru. I've brought some of Naruto's friends. I presume Mitsuki's already informed you of the circumstances."

Hinata understood this exchange; the others however were completely lost. What circumstances?

The figure jumped down from the tree and stepped away from the shadows. What Hinata saw made her gasp in amazement.

It was a young man; he couldn't have been much older than them. He was very tall, probably close to six foot and had short, cropped brown hair. His expression foretold annoyance and gave his slitted green eyes an evil glint to them. He had long fangs and claws, and where there should have been human flesh; there were instead long, pointed, furry green ears, which were also the same dark green as his eyes. He also had six green tails cascading down from the end of his spinal cord. What was even more amazing was that the air around him seemed to be glowing green. The man looked like he had a shimmering mass of chakra surrounding him, but this felt different than the normal chakra signature. As the being opened its mouth to speak, its fangs gleamed in the sun.

"I see. Mitsuki-san is waiting for you down in the master's rehabilitation room. Please, go quickly." He growled.

Tohru then turned and focused some shimmering green chakra into his extended hands. The ground shook momentarily and the trees that were in front of them disappeared to reveal a large detailed oak gate. The ninja stared at it in awe; it must have been at least thirty feet high!

Gaara and Nahara weren't swayed by the sudden appearance of the large gate and walked right up to it and knocked. When their skin contacted with the wood, it seemed to swing open of its own free will.

What was inside that gate amazed the young shinobi and kunoichi. Inside laid a humongous mansion with beautiful gardens. The mansion had burgundy colored walls and was obviously meant to fit hundreds of people…or demons. The group had to catch up with their guides down the path to the large house. They caught up just in time to hear an introduction.

"Welcome to the kitsune clan's house. Please note that the demon who greeted us by the gate is one of Naruto's guards, Tohru. Don't know why he has gate duty today, but oh well."

Ino and Sakura looked at one another.

"You mean, that man was-"

"Yep! That was a kitsune demon. Now while you're staying here, we ask that you don't pick fights with anyone. Although the kitsunes have pledged not to eat humans, or to become 'vegetarian' they will harm you if provoked. Never insult their pride and try not to ask stupid questions. Also, don't make them repeat themselves. They hate repeating themselves." Nahara informed them.

They reached the front door in seconds and heard the gates slam behind them. The party walked through the doors to see many other demons surrounding the main hall. Little kitsune children were running around playing, their tiny tails and ears flicking in the air. Kitsune women huddled in a group were talking quietly while keeping an eye on their little ones. This hall branched into two others that led into two main courtyards. The group stared at some sparring kitsunes who were clawing each other apart. They found another group that was using the elements as easily as Nahara had the day before with her water.

They passed a main common room and several staircases leading to the living quarters above. Nahara explained that each floor had its own kitchen and dining area, all twenty floors. She also explained that this house was reserved for the clan leader and the army recruits. There was supposedly a village farther into the territory that housed the rest of the clan.

"Nahara-san, are those children really expected to fight?" Tenten asked.

Nahara glanced over her shoulder and laughed, "Trust me, if you saw them fight, you wouldn't doubt their abilities. Besides, only children that have mastered their third tail may even consider coming here to learn battle techniques. In the kitsune clan, a demon's power is measured by the number of tails it has, and its ability to master their power. You see, these children aren't pushovers." She explained.

The group was lead to a door at the end of the first hall. The door led to a stairway that went to what they assumed was a basement. When they got down there, they realized it was a medical facility. All but Hinata wondered what they were doing in a place like this.

Gaara and Nahara suddenly turned very solemn. A few of the fluorescent lights flickered as they walked down a long hallway of room and ORs. Kiba scrunched his nose as the scent of sanitation and blood mixed as they came to the last room.

Lee was the first to voice what all of them wanted to know, "Excuse me Nahara-san, Gaara-san, but what are we doing down in an infirmary? Shouldn't we go see Naruto?"

Everyone else nodded in agreement. The two didn't answer and Hinata looked downcast. Gaara reached for the voice box next to the door and pressed the button.

"Mitsuki, I've brought them a little early, just like you asked."

**Insert end here.**

_I'm so sorry guys! I know I cut it off and I'm really sorry! It's really late and I promised I'd have this chapter up tonight, so it's shorter than I intended. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. Please review._

_I also am casting a vote as to the future of this story:_

_Should I keep it a t-rated story_

_Should I make it an m-rated story with lemons in the future_

_Please, please, please put your answer in the review. Note that I do accept anonymous reviews. Although the last decision is up to me, the author, I highly value my reader's opinion. Please tell me what you think and remember to vote! TTYL peeps!_

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	5. Chapter 5

_I know I haven't updated in forever, but life catches up with you. I also was just on the most amazing trip ever! Man, Charleston is the best! Well, sorry for the delay guys, but here is the long awaited chapter!_

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 5

Mitsuki startled from his sleep when he heard the buzzer and a low mumble from the speaker. He blinked his eyes several times from the bright lighting then straightened his glasses. He smoothed his lab coat before walking briskly to the door and pressing the button on the receiver.

"Thank you Gaara. Send them in please." He said politely.

Gaara's finger withdrew from the voice box and he slid out a card from his pocket. Nahara looked to the floor and shuffled her feet. Hinata's heart fluttered while a bead of sweat ran down her forehead. The others in the group were still confused as to why they were down here and even more confused by the sudden tension in the air. Neji narrowed his eyes at his cousin.

Gaara ran the card through its slot in the wall until the green light flashed above the doorway. He took a deep breath before he exhaled evenly and opened the door.

The bright fluorescent lights shone brightly in the room and Kiba recoiled at the sudden stench of blood. Akamaru whined at his side. Shino turned to his teammate alarmed.

"What's wrong Kiba?"

Kiba merely pat Akamaru on the head and covered his nose with his free hand.

"It smells awful in here! What the hell are you guys storing in here?!" he exclaimed. He turned towards Hinata and saw her stunned face. "What's up with you Hinata? Looks like you've seen a gho-"

He stopped in his tracks when he followed her gaze. In the corner of the room lay Naruto, hooked up to a ventilator. The sheets that hid his torso were stained in blood and there was some blood dripping from the side of the bed. The heart monitor that was connected to him was beeping very faintly while an IV kept a constant flow of pain killers in his system. Kiba and the others were wrenched from theirs gawking as a man stepped forward and started shaking their hands.

"Hello, I'm Mitsuki, Naruto's personal medic. I'm sure you're all extremely confused by now, but I'll have to explain later." He turned to Nahara, "Would you be a dear and fetch Tonji for me? It would seem Eureka is too strained from the constant transfusions."

Hinata took in this new man's appearance. He was rather average in height with short cropped white hair with dark streaks of green running through it. He was smiling despite his obvious exhaustion and he kept fidgeting with his glasses as they kept falling farther down the bridge of his nose. He wore a pair of lose jeans with a white T-shirt underneath his white lab coat. Mitsuki wore bright yellow latex gloves that were permanently stained with blood and simple tennis shoes that also had blood stains on them.

Nahara nodded and left the room quietly. Everyone was too shocked to speak as Mitsuki readied his supplies. Sakura's gaze often rested on her incapacitated teammate on the bed in the corner. She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall before turning to Mitsuki and Gaara.

"Do you mind telling us what the hell happened here?! What did you do to him?!" she yelled as she gestured to Naruto.

Gaara retorted sharply before Mitsuki could beat him to it. "We didn't do anything to him you ignorant…sorry…Naruto wouldn't appreciate what I was about to call you…this," he pointed to Naruto, "wasn't our doing."

Hinata spoke for the first time since they had arrived, "That's right. They found him like this after an accident involving some other humans…right?"

Gaara nodded.

Mitsuki piped in at this point. "Akatsuki, to be exact."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at Hinata.

"You knew about this? Why didn't anyone tell me? He's my teammate!" she accused.

Gaara cut Hinata off. "Obviously she was told because she could handle the news. Besides, no point in worrying you till it was necessary."

"Right. It was nothing personal, just precautionary. Please don't hold it against…Hinata, right? Anyway, Naruto received multiple wounds from his fight and captivity with Akatsuki. He was put under chakra subjugation. I believe the device they used on him is emitting a poison that is depleting his platelet count, which would explain the excessive bleeding."

Tenten's face grew rather green and she swayed on the spot. Just thinking about the blood was making her woozy. Neji steadied her before she could fall. Chouji and Lee were also looking rather pale even though they hadn't even witnessed the wounds yet.

Sakura and Hinata nodded.

"That would explain it…" Sakura thought aloud.

At that moment, Nahara returned with a man and a woman trailing behind her.

Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were too sick to give blood today Eureka?"

The woman tossed her long black hair behind her and huffed.

"Yeah, but I'm still going to be here while he's being treated. I want to be here when my cousin wakes up."

"Cousin?!" a few men in the group exclaimed.

"Yeah, who wants to…oh my gosh! I can't believe it's you guys!" the woman ran to each of them and hugged them enthusiastically. Her bright green eyes shimmered in delight. "I haven't seen you since you were all little babies! Ahhh, I'm so happy you could make it here!" she blinked then smacked her forehead. "Oh, where are my manners! You probably don't remember me anyway! My name is Eureka Sukei and this," she waved to the man behind her, "is my twin brother Tonji. Tonji, aren't you glad to see them?!" she exclaimed at her brother.

Tonji ran a hand through his short black hair and hesitantly smiled before waving his hand slightly in greeting.

"Nice to see you…again…" he chuckled.

Eureka smiled warmly at them and whispered, "Don't worry, he's just a little shy at first, but he'll perk up!"

Everyone stared in disbelief at these two. They couldn't care less that Tonji wasn't quite exuberant in greeting them. They were still getting over his sister's sudden mood swing and the fact that Naruto had relatives. Was it just them, or wasn't Naruto supposed to be an orphan?

Tonji chuckled again. "Nii-chan, I think you're scaring them."

Eureka ignored this as she moved from one person to the next, examining them. When she got to the end of the line, she paused and blinked in confusion.

She frowned slightly, "Hey, I don't remember you….wait a minute…nii-san, nii-san! She looks exactly like Hikari-san! You must be Hinata right? It's no wonder I didn't recognize you since we left after Naruto was born. Oh, it's so nice to meet you! Naruto speaks very highly of you."

Hinata was stunned when she heard her mother's name. She didn't have time to ponder how this girl knew her because she was swept in the tightest hug she had ever received. She did catch sight of Tonji smirking at her, whether it was her current predicament or something his sister had said.

"Nice to meet you Eureka-san. H-he does?" Hinata asked breathlessly.

Eureka set her down and smirked.

"Sure he does. By the way, just call me Eureka. I hate it when people call me 'san'. It makes me sound old…"

During this small conversation, Mitsuki already was drawing blood from Tonji across the room. Once finished he attached the bag of blood to Naruto's IV.

"Anyway, if any of you are sensitive around open wounds, I suggest you go outside. I'm planning on starting now. Would the med nins of the group please stay especially?" Mitsuki said without glancing behind him.

Nearly everyone left the room except for Shikamaru, Shino, Sakura, and Hinata.

"What is it exactly that you're starting?" Shikamaru asked.

Mitsuki didn't answer right away. He pointed and motioned for Hinata to come forward. She tentatively stepped toward Naruto's bed.

"Hinata, as a Hyuuga, you are able to heal chakra systems correct?" Mitsuki muttered.

Hinata nodded but didn't look away from Naruto's pale face. She bit her lip as Mitsuki pulled back the sheet that covered the body.

Sakura's eyes widened and she took a sharp intake of breath. Shikamaru stumbled in shock and covered his mouth incase the inevitable took place. Hinata did her best to keep a straight face as she looked down at her love and knew patient.

Any flesh that was there was difficult to see due to the amount of blood and bandages covering it. The smell was wretched; as if it was already deteriorating. Taking the sheet in her hand now, Hinata drew it farther down and activated her blood limit. Naruto's chakra flow was thin, but still there. It all seemed to be sucked into the metal chunk that was overlaying his stomach. Ignoring his other injuries, she focused more chakra to her eyes in order to look closer at the chakra subjugation technique used.

As she concentrated harder, she found that two sources of chakra were entrapped in the subjugation used. One was the blue source that belonged to the feeble line that was coursing through the rest of his body. The other burned bright red, desperately trying to free itself from its confinements. This chakra was coursing stronger and faster than any she had seen before. She only assumed this had to be the great Kyuubi's chakra. The way it was moving, it was easy to see why the subjugation had not been removed earlier. Compounded chakra like that could really cause some pain to a hundred mile radius if released at once.

She stood straight and sighed, "You should know I can't heal him as his condition is now."

Eureka, Tonji, Nahara, and Gaara tensed as she said this.

Mitsuki nodded.

"I knew you would say that. But I have a plan." He paused to gauge her reaction. "I would have done this myself if it was possible, but the technique won't allow demon chakra to get in or out of its host's body…I believe the key to defeating the technique is to reach Naruto's consciousness, or the source of all his chakra. Do you see where I'm going Hinata?"

Hinata blinked in shock. The procedure he was implying was a strenuous one and barely known to work.

"So you want me to go into his chakra system to wake him up? How will that would that work?" she questioned cautiously.

Mitsuki pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and smirked.

"I thought you would ask that. Well, the whole point of going into his chakra systems is to awaken both Naruto's and Kyuubi's consciousness. If you couldn't tell, the effect of the subjugation is to leave the host powerless and in a comatose state. When that's done, the Kyuubi should be able to neutralize the poison being emitted that's stopping the production of platelets in Naruto's body. Also, Kyuubi's cell regeneration will help to heal some of his more serious wounds. While that's happening, Sakura and I can jump in to finish the job. I'll immediately give him a transfusion when most of his wounds are healed."

Hinata looked toward Naruto. It seemed like a good enough plan. At least doing this would enhance his percentage of survival.

"But, the success percentage of the technique is extremely low…" she stated quietly.

Mitsuki's smirk was replaced with a sad smile as he ran a hand through his snow white hair.

"You're right. But we'll never know unless we try right?"

Hinata's eyes softened and nodded.

"What exactly do you want me to do Mitsuki-san?"

"Excellent!" his eyes sparkled with new strength as he said it, "The most important thing to remember when doing a technique like this is to not get caught up in the memories of your patient, which you will more than likely encounter. Whatever you might hear from his memories, you can't be distracted…unless you want to be stuck in there forever…anyway, you'll have to follow your instincts on this one. Normally there is a strand of Kyuubi's chakra that leads to the core of his chakra…well, it's obviously gone now, so you'll just have to wing it when trying to find him. When you find both of them, all you should have to do is wake them up and find a way to destroy this thing," he paused and pointed at the shiny metal, "from the inside. Sounds easy, huh?"

Despite Hinata's nod in agreement, she started to shake with nervousness. What if she couldn't do it? What if instead of helping Naruto, she damned him to his death? So many things could go wrong with this procedure…she was losing confidence in herself every second.

Shino was immediately by her side.

"Hinata-san, I'm sure you will do well. Do not worry so much about these things. What happens will happen, and that is the only thing we do know for certain. Never forget that you are an extremely gifted med-nin. Furthermore, the old saying goes that you can do anything you put your mind to." He said calmly while his sunglasses flickered from the fluorescent light above.

Sakura stepped forward and smiled. "He's right Hinata. You are more skilled than you care to believe. I know you can do it, not just from your talent, but your heart too."

"I truly have never met someone more self-sacrificing and determined than you Hinata. Well, save Naruto that is…I'm sure you will be able to pull this off." Shikamaru assured.

"If there's anyone who can save Naruto, it's you." Nahara smiled.

Eureka nodded in encouragement.

Hinata allowed herself a smile and bowed her head.

"Thank you all for the encouragement. You really are great friends." She turned to Mitsuki, "I'll do my best."

Mitsuki nodded and rolled Naruto's bed to the center of the room. Hinata took a deep breath to steady her nerves and went through a series of hand seals before touching her palm to Naruto's forehead. All of a sudden her eyesight blurred and everything went black.

Shino darted forward to catch her limp form. He carefully dragged her to the wall and propped her up against it.

"So what now?" Tonji asked quietly.

Mitsuki looked solemnly between his captain and the unconscious girl against the wall.

"We sit and wait Tonji. That's all we can do."

**Heh, talk about a long scene, huh? Anyway, here's the next one.**

Hinata opened her eyes and groaned. Her whole body seemed to ache as she struggled to stand. She looked up and gasped. A never ending blackness surrounded her. A cold shiver ran down her spine as the darkness pressed against her, giving her the feeling of complete loneliness and fear. Where the hell was she?

At that moment she was bombarded by what seemed to be hundreds of voices. They beat against her eardrum so loud and clear, she could swear she was surrounded by the bodies these voices belonged to. When she tried to find some relief to the lonely black abyss, she saw nothing. All she saw was the black that was coated with the disembodied voices.

She clamped her hands over her ears to get rid of the voices, but to no avail. It was as if they were etched into her brain, a never ending sequence of slurred sentences and shrieks; whispers and moans of pain.

Then, all of a sudden, they stopped. Only one conversation was left. She saw nothing at first. All she heard was small, crooning voices from what seemed to be coming above her. Then as if a movie strip was being played, a bright white light flashed in front of her as a picture came into focus.

A red haired woman sat in a bed covered in crisp white sheets. Although she was sweating and breathing heavily, she showed no signs of discomfort. She smiled widely as someone in a white lab coat brought a bundle to her. A man stood beside her and Hinata had to keep herself from choking on her own saliva at who it was, or who it appeared to be. The man looked exactly like Naruto, except taller than Hinata would expect. His eyes had a more reserved look in them, not quite as bright and beautiful as she knew Naruto's to be.

The bundle was handed to the woman in the bed.

"_Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki. You now have a beautiful baby boy."_

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. She knew that voice only too well after all the training sessions she had had with the woman. Tsunade herself stood next to the bed and smiled down at the couple.

The woman looked up at her husband.

"_Oh Minato, isn't he precious? Are you crying?" _she asked worriedly.

Minato didn't say anything. He just bent down and kissed her cheek.

"_He's beautiful Kushina. I'm crying because you've made me the happiest man alive."_

At that moment, the 'video' focused sharply on the couple and on the face in the blankets. Hinata stared at the baby Naruto in shock and awe. The baby version of him started to cry, but she couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. Kushina smiled too.

"_Would you like to hold him?"_

Minato's eyes visibly widened and he stared down at the crying boy in his wife's arms. He looked a bit scared of him actually.

"_It's okay. You're not going to hurt him."_

Kushina laughed at Minato's still discouraged face. She then handed the baby to him giving him no choice but to take it. Immediately the boy calmed down and Minato smiled widely at him.

From across the room, the door opened causing the three adults to turn their heads. Hinata blinked in surprise. It was a younger Jiraiya and Kakashi that stood in the doorway.

"_Now where's the little prodigy?"_ asked Jiraiya.

Without waiting for an answer, he went straight for Minato and started cooing at the little bundle in his student's arms. Kakashi hesitantly walked toward his sensei and peered over the tightly wound blankets. He smiled under his mask and turned to the red head.

"_Congratulations Sensei, Kushina-san. He looks just like you Sensei."_ He said quietly.

"_Spitting image of his daddy!" _Jiraiya interjected.

"_Yep, I'd bet he'd have Minato-kun's strength too." _Tsunade said thoughtfully.

"_Oh, Tsunade, don't go jinxing the poor boy! All your bets turn out false after all!" _Jiraiya teased.

This earned the old lecher a punch in the gut. Everyone burst out laughing as the man crumpled to the floor.

"_So what are you going to name him?" _Kakashi asked casually.

Kushina and Minato exchanged a glance and smiled. Then Minato addressed Jiraiya.

"_As we talked about a few weeks ago Sensei, we want you to be the godfather. You do remember what we decided to name him right?"_

Jiraiya groaned as he stood up and grumbled, _"Of course I remember. You wanted to name him Naruto after the main character in my book. About that, you sure you want to name him as a ramen topping?"_

"_We had this talk too. You know why we wish to name him that." _Minato said as Naruto played with his finger.

Everyone in the room smiled at the sight.

"_My little Naruto will grow into one of the strongest ninja Konoha has ever seen. He'll have the Will of Fire burning brightly inside him just as I do. And one day he'll even surpass me in his quest for greatness."_ Minato announced before he kissed his son's forehead.

It was then that the first screams from the Kyuubi's attack were heard. And just like that, the memory faded into the darkness. Hinata then realized that she had tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away quickly while mulling over what she just saw. Naruto could have had such a loving family if not for the Kyuubi. And it would just get worse from then on in his life.

"This must be the beginning of Naruto's memories…I can't believe I actually got in!" Hinata mused with herself, "But, I still have a long way to go before I reach Naruto. I can't be distracted anymore!"

As if sensing her new found courage, a light came from the end of the room. She eagerly raced towards it, more determined than ever to finish her mission. As she reached it, the light changed into a candlelit corridor. She stumbled in surprise as she ran into knee high water. Pipes lined the ceiling and walls and there was a constant dripping sound in the hall. More faint memories whispered along the walls to her.

She sloshed in the water through the never ending hallway and concentrated on moving forward and tried her best to ignore the sound effects that rebounded inside her head. Some tempted her extremely to stop her progress and watch, but despite this, she kept on her course.

What seemed like hours passed with what looked like little progress down the water filled path through Naruto's chakra system. Hinata was finding it harder and harder to ignore the memories that were determined to slow her sluggish progress towards the main chakra reservoir. Finally she was pulled to a stop when she heard a yell of pain and anguish. Just as when she first arrived, it seemed as if a movie strip was rolling on an invisible screen in front of her.

A small blonde haired boy ran down the darkened alley way and stumbled as he reached a dead end. He looked behind him in pure fright as he heard voices coming closer. Flaming torchlight now filled the alley as a crowd of people surrounded him.

"_Did you really think you could get away you little demon brat? The Third should have just let us kill you when you were born you piece of scum!_" one of the crowd shouted.

The boy trembled in fear as he silently cried. Hinata was having trouble keeping her gaze on the scene in front of her. Why didn't he beg to be spared? She only saw the look in both Naruto's and the crowd's eyes to realize that doing that would be a waste of breath. It was then that the stones, knives, and clubs began raining down on the poor toddler. Hinata willed herself to look away when she heard the screams emitting from Naruto. She choked out a sob a she tried waving the memory from her sight. Instead of disappearing, more memories flashed instead. Memories from the playground they used to visit as children, of the academy, and one the many pranks he pulled during those days. Hinata closed her eyes tightly but still had to suffer through the pain that rang through Naruto's confident words and straight face. Finally there was a memory that caused her to snap her eyes open and pay attention.

Before her was Naruto crying, something that she had rarely seen him do even in his memories. Above him hovered the source for his anguish; Iruka Sensei was protecting him at the cost of the huge shuriken protruding from his back.

"_You were lonely, right? It was tough right? I'm sorry Naruto. You didn't have to feel that way if I was more aware." _Iruka sobbed.

Mizuki who was crouched on a tree limb chuckled.

"_Don't make me laugh! You are nothing but a monster Naruto! Iruka has hated you always since you killed his parents. He's only acting nice so he can get that scroll back!"_

The scene seemed to fast forward. Now it showed Mizuki standing in front of Iruka as he rested against a tree. Naruto remained hidden behind a tree.

"_You're right, he would destroy us," _Iruka said casually, _"If he was the Kyuubi. But Naruto is different. He's…he's an excellent student that I recognize. He's hardworking, earnest, clumsy, and no one recognizes him. He knows the pain of others. He's not a monster fox. He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!"_

Mizuki shook his head.

"_You know, I said I'd kill you later, but I take that back," _he pulled out another shuriken and began charging, _"You die now Iruka!"_

His assault was short lived as Naruto jumped out and punched Mizuki with enough force to send him flying.

"_If you ever touch Iruka-sensei, I'll kill you." _Naruto muttered as he glared at the chuunin in front of him.

"_No problem. Since you're in the way, I'll just kill you first!" _Mizuki yelled.

"_Just try it, jerk. Whatever you throw at me, I'll give back at you times a thousand."_

With that said, Naruto formed the hand signs for his shadow replication.

"_Kage bunshin no jutsu!"_

True to his word, a thousand shadow clones appeared and began taunting Mizuki. Before he could even gather air to scream, he was unconscious. Naruto grinned sheepishly at his mentor.

"_Maybe I did too much damage…are you all right Iruka-sensei?"_

Iruka looked on in shock but smiled. "_Yeah. Come here Naruto. There's something I want to give you."_

Naruto obeyed and walked over to where his teacher was sitting. Iruka got up and dug in his pocket for something. What he pulled out was a forehead protector with the leaf village insignia engraved on it. Iruka carefully took off the goggles that adorned Naruto's head and replaced it with the forehead protector.

"_Congratulations, Naruto. You pass."_

The memory then blurred and came to a halt. Hinata couldn't help but smile. Finally, a good memory for Naruto to have…well, sort of. She looked down at her feet and remembered something Iruka had said: 'you didn't have to feel that way if I was more aware'. Hinata couldn't help but agree with this statement. If Hinata had recognized Naruto's pain, she would have been there in a heartbeat for him. She wouldn't have purposefully left him to wallow in his grief. With this in mind, she pledged that she would be there to comfort him. She'd do the thing she'd been trying for the past six years: she would confess her feelings for him. Well, she couldn't predict the time limit, but she still vowed to be there for him.

Her eyes burned with determination and she ran as fast as the water would allow her to the end of the hall.

**Insert end.**

_Sorry, I'm cutting it a bit short, but I'm really tired. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Even though I updated, I'm still on major homework overload, so don't expect too much more from me. I do however plan to give out the 15__th__ chap to 'of lost memories and new life' and hopefully the 6__th__ chap for this fic. Please read and review! I worked on this with only one break for seven hours! I wish to know what you all thought. If any of you were confused by something in this chapter, put it in the review or PM me. Flames will not be tolerated. See ya'll later!_

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hehehe, I've got some good and bad news people. The obvious good news is that I updated 'of lost memories and new life' and I've updated this story. The bad news is that I have been given three more term papers to write within the five weeks to graduation. Omg! It's so close! Ahhhhh! Don't be terribly discouraged by my papers. I always find a way to make them college level in a short time to give me full credit! I'm really gonna miss middle school though. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter._

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 6

Hinata sloshed through the water that flowed through the tunnels as fast as she could. More voices and memories blurred her vision as she ran wildly past the candle lit corridors. She was stopped dead when she felt a strong flicker of energy. She saw a small flash of red chakra coming from one of the hallways ahead. Kyuubi must be trying to seep his chakra out of the jutsu. But just as soon as it came, the strand of red vanished. Hinata exhaled and followed the dispersing energy down the hallway and she turned left into a pitch black corridor.

Loud, boisterous laughter filled her eardrums as she walked blindly through the black nothing that surrounded her. She closed her eyes to rid her of the sound that seemed imprinted into her skull but there was no difference. After many minutes of hugging the walls to keep her course steady, the laughter became louder and a sudden feeling of happiness caused her knees to buckle. The raw emotions that billowed from the end of the hall seemed to have a power of their own, knocking her to her feet. Hinata gasped as the breath was taken from her in the torrent of emotion. She kneeled there in the water until the laughter died down to a chuckle and then a bright light caused her to look up.

It was a memory, one more clear than the others before it. It showed a glorious courtyard bathed in pure sunlight. A fountain bubbled serenely in the center of it and more laughter filled the scene. It showed a group of nine people all of them laughing profusely at something Hinata did not catch.

"_Man, Sasuke's reaction was priceless!" _Eureka giggled.

Hinata recognized many of the people in the memory besides the obvious spiky blonde boy that sat in the middle of the group. She saw Gaara sitting to the side on a bench close to a patch of flowers, smiling at the cell phone in Naruto's hand. Mitsuki was chuckling with another boy with brown hair that she didn't know while Tonji and Eureka giggled to themselves as they looked over Naruto's shoulder. Nahara was to Naruto's left, sitting beside him on the bench and was giggling, something that Hinata was shocked to see. There were also two girls, one with brown hair and the other with striking blonde, that Hinata didn't recognize that were gasping for air and their faces were red from chortling so much.

"_Heh, he was pretty impressed. Maybe this will finally get Karin off his back." _Naruto smiled devilishly.

As soon as Naruto spoke those words, everyone got a disgusted look on their faces.

"_Fucking ho-bag." _Eureka muttered.

"_Douche bag." _Nahara said in disdain.

"_Skank." _The brunette spit.

"_Bitch!" _the blonde agreed with the other girls.

The boy with the brown hair looked between the girls and smiled sheepishly.

"_Oh come on Naomi, Kiara, one person can't be that bad." _He suggested.

Everyone else in the group rounded on him with a look that clearly stated he was insane in their eyes.

"_Shut up Kovu! She's a hateful skank-bitch and you can't say anything since you haven't had the...pleasure…of meeting her." _The brown haired girl that was referred to as Naomi barked. She dragged out the sarcastic note in her voice as she said the word pleasure.

"_Yeah, Kovu, you're new here so you don't understand just how evil Karin is." _Mitsuki whispered to him.

Gaara picked a flower from a bush next to him and grinned evilly. He started plucking the petals one by one well muttering,_ "Should I kill her, should I kill her not?" _he finally plucked the last petal and looked severely disappointed at his answer.

"_I think we should do more videos about Karin. This U.G.L.Y music video turned out really good! How'd you get your hands on those pictures Naruto?" _Kiara asked.

Naruto smirked and replied,_ "I have my ways…okay, so maybe there was a little black mail involved…I think Sasuke would appreciate our ploys in trying to get rid of Karin for him…yeesh, can she ever keep her hands to herself?" _he looked at a very disturbing picture on his cell phone._ "I don't even want to use that one, not even for black mail…" _he trailed off and caught the looks of his friends and burst out laughing again.

Hinata looked on with a sweet smile on her face. It was so wonderful seeing Naruto like that and with people that truly understood him. She felt so light hearted that he had at least a few good memories. It was sad that those good memories weren't made in Konoha, but maybe she could change that someday…maybe they all could.

The memory slowly faded, but with it went the airy happiness that had engulfed the tunnel. Now it was eerily silent all except for the drip of the pipes over head that were shrouded in darkness. Hinata caught another slight flicker of chakra and began following it cautiously, the silence and creepy drip resonating under her skin giving her goose bumps. A sudden shiver of fear ran through her, but the fear was not her own. She brushed it aside and kept walking.

Many hours later, the fear crawled back up her spine only this time it brought uncomfortable twinges; they weren't quite painful, just on the verge of being so. Her shoulders tensed, almost waiting for something to pop out at her from the darkness, like in one of those crappy horror movies. But despite her unease, she continued, her footfall only a slight bit more cautious than before. This continued for a few more minutes before she was knocked to the floor in sudden excruciating pain. She heard a scream, in reality two screams; one was her own, the other a deeper masculine voice.

The memory assaulted her so fast she had no time to catch her breath. The emotions came crashing down on her wave after wave, completely entrancing her and holding her to her crouched position on the floor.

"_Subdue him now! Before the Kyuubi can defend him!" _a voice screamed from the dark recesses of theforest.

"_Hai!" _came eight replies.

The dim light in the memory caught the shape of a man in a firm stance in a small clearing. He was breathing heavily from chakra exhaustion and was trying to find a way of escaping his pursuers. Another shape came forward swiftly and drew a large sword that was strapped across his shoulder. Several bandages surrounding the sword came loose to reveal many spikes. The man jumped a few yards back but wasn't able to avoid the whole attack. The sword gouged deeply into his left forearm, leaving an almost identical imprint of the spikes in his flesh. The man gritted his teeth to subdue the cry that willed itself to come out. Before the cloaked person could gather momentum to strike again, he jumped once again out of reach and desperately tried finding a way out of the clearing. Seven other cloaked figures surrounded the premises, leaving him no choice but to look from side to side nervously and back away from the closest person to him.

When the man tried defending himself with a jutsu, another cloaked figure jumped from a limb and grabbed the man's right hand. Cold laughter came from underneath the cloak.

"_Let's see you try to use jutsu when I'm done with you, yeah!"_

A small explosion occurred as the cloaked figure held steady to his opponents hand. The man couldn't hold back a cry of pain as blood and bone splinters fell from his hand. He stumbled backward and held his limp hand gently.

Two other men in cloaks muttered to each other, _"Let's finish this already."_

One of the two came forward swiftly with a kunai gripped firmly. He raced to the person in front of him and hit his mark; he slashed the man's neck, effectively making him bleed profusely and lose his breath. The other came from behind and brought his katana diagonally across his opponent's chest. The man quickly lost consciousness and slumped to the dirt beneath him.

"_Good work. Pick him up and let's get out of here."_

The subordinates in black obliged immediately and soon they were off into the black limbs and leaves around them.

The memory changed. Now the man that had been severely injured was crouched on a cold stone floor of a prison cell with three men surrounding him and a man and a woman standing outside the closed cell bars. The man closest to the crouched figure wore an orange mask and had brown spiky hair. The eye that was visible from the mask burned red with the Sharingan. Another man had half his face painted white and the other half black and he had green tousled hair. His eyes were a striking yellow as he stared down to the person on the floor.

"_Not going to talk eh? How about another dosage of pain to help you along?" _the yellow eyed man sneered.

He picked up the man by the scruff of the neck and smashed his back against the wall. He bared his fangs and grinned mercilessly. His cannibalistic teeth sank into the man's right shoulder. Despite the obvious pain that coursed through his body, he willed himself not to make a sound.

The man with the orange mask came forward and pleaded with his teammate,

"_Oh, please Zetsu-san let me have a go at him! I want to hear this demon brat scum scream for mercy!"_

"_Very well, Obito. It's your turn."_

The man called Obito smirkedand said to the man as he crumpled to the floor, "_How's about we make sure you can't run away?"_

A loud crunching sound made its way to Hinata's ears and she cringed. She knew who the man was being tortured, but her mind and body would not come to grips with the possibility.

"_Now, you're not stupid enough to run with your legs like that are you? Well, since you're stuck having fun with us, how about you tell us what you know, hm? How do you get to them without the Anbu being alerted? What other kind of protection is surrounding them? No? How about something different? What's her name? What are her weaknesses? How important is she to her father? How do we infiltrate her house? How often is she unguarded? Don't tell me you don't know 'cause I know you do dammit! It's your job to know right? Or, is it something else…" _Obito rambled.

The man on the floor decided to end the silent treatment in order to spit at Obito's eye and mutter ferociously, _"I'm not telling you shit asswhole!"_

Obito growled in frustration and was about to strike the man when a voice behind him called out,

"_Enough. This is clearly not working. Besides, I believe he has been subdued enough that the Kyuubi cannot interfere. Kakuzu, if you'd please?"_

The other man in the cell walked silently towards the groaning man on the floor and picked him up roughly. He then turned his forehead to the wall and smashed it hard, the impact causing him to lose consciousness once again. Obito and Zetsu then proceeded to shackle his ankles and wrists to the wall where he then hung limply, blood spilling down his forehead.

Soon after, Kakuzu and Zetsu left the cell, holding it open for the woman and man outside. Obito stood farther back, staring at their victim. The man that was still cloaked addressed the woman this time.

"_Have you prepared it ahead of time as planned?"_

"_Of course Sensei." _

She headed to the table that had been placed in the dark corner of the cell. She picked up a large hunk of silver. It was elongated with a red kitsune with rubies for eyes.

Obito walked up to her and said,_"Come on Rin, finish it all ready. I want to hear him scream."_

She turned to him and giggled,_ "Be patient Obito-kun. Sensei, are you sure you want to watch the chakra subjugation?"_

The other man walked towards the man chained to the wall and whispered in his ear,

"_Naruto, you must understand that I'm doing this for you and your mother." _he then took a step back and waited.

It was now that Hinata could see the man's face that had been chained. It confirmed what the man in front of him had just said and her worst fears. The blood poured from underneath long spiky blonde locks and ran past the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks.

Rin stepped toward him this time and placed a hand on Naruto's stomach. After she calculated exactly where the perimeter of the seal was, she jammed the silver into Naruto's abdomen.

Four metal coils emerged from the holes in the back of the silver and penetrated through the skin, and wrapping themselves around his intestines. It then proceeded to drain him and the Kyuubi of their chakra.

Naruto let out a scream of agony as the metal continued to coil around his guts. His eyelids fluttered open in time to take in the man in front of him. His thoughts voiced resonated in his memory,

"_Tou-san…why?"_

He then fell unconscious from the pain and lack of chakra.

Hinata's tears ran freely down her face and she screamed in horror. She ran straight through the wisp of memory and continued down the corridor, not daring to look back for fear of seeing her love's face contorted in pain again. She barely noticed the slightly brighter light up ahead of her; she only saw those last few moments of Naruto before their current situation. Her head was spinning at everything she heard. Her sobs echoed around her. Finally she exhausted herself from running and crying so hard and she tripped in the water in front of her. She panted and her body shook violently. At this point she was afraid she would get sick right then and there. She evened her breathing and looked up. Her eyes widened in shock.

The room she was in was huge. Large, thick bars rose to the dome shaped ceiling where the wall should have been in front of her. Hinata shivered as they reminded her of the bars of the prison cell in the last memory she saw. Candles were attached to the walls and illuminated everything besides the darkness beyond the bars. In wonder she stood and walked cautiously toward the cell. She looked up at the paper that was pasted to the bars that had the kanji word form of 'seal' written on it. She continued warily through the bars and back into darkness.

As soon as she did, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Warm air brushed her face as soft breathing reached her ears. Her hands reached out in curiosity and felt soft fur underneath her touch. The second she touched it, red chakra flared around the entity and lit up the cage. Hinata gasped at the sheer size of the legendary Kyuubi. He was probably the length of two full grown humpback whales had his nine tails been free to uncurl themselves. His snout alone was the length of three human bodies. His enormous rib cage expanded with each deep breath he took in his slumber. His ears lay back and his jaws rested on his forepaws as his red chakra danced around his body. He looked almost cute despite his size.

Hinata felt a strange sense of peace flow through her, though she had expected to be scared out of her mind at the sight of the Kyuubi. She continued to stroke his fur gently and looked around her. It was truly a dreary place to have to spend the rest of your days in. Had it not been for the chakra, the cave like cage walls would be almost completely black and were damp looking. The water still flowed evenly in this room and apart from the odd pipes that ran across the walls and ceiling, there was no décor.

In her assessment of the room, something caught her eye. The nine tails of the Kyuubi were wrapped protectively around something and held it tight to his side. Aside from the brilliant red fur there was a shock of blonde. Hinata stopped petting the soft fur and headed straight to the blonde hair until she came face to face with Naruto. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw him for the first time without any ailments.

He had become stunningly handsome in the six years of absence from his home village. His face no longer had that boyish chub around his cheeks; instead they had thinned out to show his strong jaw and chin. His whisker marks were more prominent and gave him a more rugged look about him. His hair had grown out some and was long enough to reach past his eyebrows. Hinata could only guess how handsome the rest of him looked seeming as Kyuubi's tails were curled around everything besides his face. She longed for those gorgeous blue orbs to open and entrance her as they always had and for his face to stretch out in his fox-like grin that made her turn to a jello consistency.

Hinata reached out her hand to stroke the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks when a growl froze her in place.

'**If you touch him, I won't hesitate to rip your throat out human.'** came the Kyuubi's deep guttural voice.

Hinata turned to face large red cat-like eyes staring down at her. She paled and couldn't help but stutter as she tried to talk in her defense.

'**State your business with my kit, woman.'**

"I-I…um, Mitsuki-san sent me here. Forgive me for disturbing you Kyuubi-sama, but the injuries to Naruto's body are severe. I was sent to repel the jutsu so that you and Mitsuki-san may begin the healing process." She bowed in respect and waited with baited breath for a response.

Kyuubi speculated her carefully with one observant eye. He concluded from her posture that she was telling the truth and heaved a sigh.

'**Very well then. Pray tell, how exactly are you going to achieve that?' **

Hinata blinked in surprise and realized she had no idea how to wake up Naruto. She averted the Kyuubi's gaze as she desperately wished Mitsuki had given her something to work with! Meanwhile Kyuubi sniffed with impatience.

"I'm not sure…"

Kyuubi merely nodded and watched her intently, gently setting his head back on his paws. His tails unfurled from Naruto's body and coiled again more toward the side, still ready to wrap around his host should the need arise.

Hinata took a few tentative steps to Naruto before coming down on her knees to have a closer look. Her hand outstretched to his face and she brushed his bangs away from his eyes. She let her hand rest there on his cheek, her heart fluttering slightly, as she was unsure of what to do.

'**Why don't you try exploiting him to a powerful emotion? Maybe it will stimulate him to awaken.' **The Kyuubi interjected solemnly.

Hinata glanced furtively in his direction and gave a slight nod. An emotion? Like what exactly? While her mind was turning over possibilities, she stroked the whisker marks on his cheek. He looked so peaceful as he slept, so much more than she had ever seen him. It made her heart wrench when she remembered the hideous torture she had witnessed minutes ago. She wanted to see him smile and laugh like he had before; not broken and fearful. Her eyes welled up too fast for her to try to stem the flow of tears. Her grief awakened an emotion that was fairly foreign to her and it coursed through her veins like wild fire as she stared down at Naruto's face, willing him to awaken and give her that goofy smile of his that she adored. Her eyes still streaming tears down her face, she bent her face lower to his. Kyuubi looked on in slight alarm and curiosity.

A single tear fell on Naruto's cheek before Hinata's lips toughed his. She pressed lightly on his, willing some reaction to come from him, some comfort that she wasn't going to have to face his death. The kiss became more urgent as her pain, grief and love intensified. The blood was pounding in her veins and the fire increased. She stayed like that till she had to breathe. As she panted, still hovering over him, she wiped the stray tear from his face. If she looked close enough, she would have seen his face pull into a small grimace. But she was too distracted by her emotions and what she had just done. Her face was ablaze as she set herself back a little farther from him.

**End scene. Chapter six scene two commence.**

It had been over two hours since Hinata had entered the chakra coils and memories of Naruto and the Kyuubi. Most everyone had dozed off during that time although it was hard to tell with Shino. Sakura and Shino had taken their dutiful places by Hinata's unoccupied body while the twins had pulled up chairs beside Naruto's bed. Nahara was leaning against a dozing Gaara's shoulder. Mitsuki had crashed against the wall, desperately needing a power nap. Only Shikamaru remained awake, but he was in somewhat of a trance as he watched the rise and fall of Naruto's chest and heard the steady beep of the heart monitor. He was slumped next to Mitsuki and he yawned widely as the sound became a slight hum in the background and his eyelids drooped…

He jolted awake as the heart monitor burst into action. He could see from underneath the blanket that there were red sparks emitting from where the metal was on Naruto's stomach. Shikamaru elbowed Mitsuki and pointed to the sparks. Mitsuki, who was still groggy, rubbed his eyes and wiped his glasses on his shirt before looking up. As soon as he realized what was going on, he leapt to his feet and rushed over to pull back the cover. What he saw left his mouth agape.

The metal was emitting a small red flame and some sparks from it, yet the flame wasn't hot. He could see the coils writhing from underneath it as the flame sputtered then finally went out. Almost instantly after the flame extinguished itself, the metal coils released their hold and slid into their sockets. With a click, the metal came loose from Naruto's skin and slid off. Mitsuki's face broke into a smile as his hands caught the subjugation technique.

"What—" Shikamaru began but he was cut off.

"My God, she did it." Mitsuki whispered.

As he spoke, the more serious wounds began to heal. Mitsuki sighed and put his gloves back on. He had a lot of work to do.

**Chapter six, scene three.**

Kyuubi cocked his head to the side in confusion. Sometimes human emotions were extremely complicated…his ears twitched and his eyes widened as he heard the heartbeat quicken from Naruto and his face pull into a grimace. Naruto's thoughts raced into his head.

'_Who's there? Hinata? Why do you cry? Did I do something? Am I still causing you pain after all this time?' _Naruto questioned as he was regaining consciousness.

Kyuubi wished to respond, to tell him his assumptions were false. But he felt he need not disturb the young maiden still crying by the side of his kit. He instead closed his eyes and sighed in relief.

Hinata still held tightly to one of Naruto's hands as the tears continued to fall. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when his fingers twitched and tightened around hers. She focused on his face and saw his grimace and his eyes flutter. His breath hitched slightly and he let out a groan of discomfort. Hinata was on her knees again hovering over him. She cupped some water into her free hand and poured it on his face. He coughed and spluttered from the cold water and his eyes snapped open. His eyes searched desperately around his surroundings. His eyes locked on her silvery ones and they widened.

'_So I wasn't dreaming? Hinata's really here? I didn't imagine that kiss?' _Kyuubi was able to pick up these strands of thoughts from him and he smirked.

The tears came back full force now as she stared into the gorgeous blue windows of Naruto's soul.

"H-Hinata-chan?" he reached a hand to her, as if still trying to grasp if she was really there.

He was then bombarded by Hinata's strong arms wrapping themselves around his waist. He instantly felt his shoulder get damp from her crying and she started shaking as sobs wracked her body. His wide eyes rested on her sobbing form and he wrapped his own set of arms around her. They stayed in their embrace for a long time, all the while Kyuubi kept his eyes shut to give them privacy. After awhile Hinata's shaking stopped and she just stayed there in his strong arms. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I'm so glad…that I was able to bring you back." she whispered.

Naruto bent his face down and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Hinata-chan. I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't saved me."

Hinata's cheeks burned as he added the suffix to her name and she pulled back slightly. She blinked in modesty and mumbled, "There's no reason to thank me. You're one of my precious people Naruto-kun…of course I would help you." She silently was thankful for the darkness as it hid her blush. She prayed to the gods that he didn't remember the kiss.

Naruto looked at Hinata's small figure with fondness. She was exactly as he remembered, but then not at the same time. She still wore an overly large jacket, but it was different than before. It had different shades of purple to it and was lined in black. She wore black capri pants and the standard black ninja sandals. Her familiar face was outlined by grown out navy blue hair and it framed her face perfectly. It was her lilac eyes that shimmered silver in the light that always stayed the same. Despite what most people thought of the Byakugan, Naruto thought a Hinata's eyes to be very expressive and warm. He smiled at the beauty that she had become in his absence. He had not noticed that she had returned his gaze and he looked away with a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

"We should be heading back now, Naruto-kun. Everyone's waiting for you."

He looked back at her, "Everyone…?"

She smiled slightly and nodded. She then turned to Kyuubi, who still had his eyes closed, "Thank you Kyuubi-sama for allowing me here. Forgive me for invading your space."

Kyuubi lifted the lid of one eye. **'Not at all young one. It'd be best not to sneak up on me like that, should you ever endeavor this trip again in the future. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for bringing my kit back to me. I am forever in your debt fair maiden.' **He bowed his head slightly in respect to her. He then stretched his neck over to where Naruto sat. Kyuubi nudged his cheek and licked his face lightly, and then he lowered his snout onto Naruto's lap.

Hinata looked around the cage with her brow furrowed. She hoped that they could get back the same way they got in. she scooted closer to Naruto and Kyuubi as she reached out for the blonde's hands. He gave them to her more than willingly and she explained in a low voice,

"The trick is to channel your chakra and concentrate very hard on your destination. I don't suppose you have any chakra left over do you?"

Naruto's shake of the head confirmed her newly found worry. She bit her lip trying to think of another solution.

Kyuubi interrupted her silence, **'You know, I could easily get you out of here. All you had to do was ask.'**

Hinata looked up in surprise.

**'Fear not little one. I should have enough chakra to transfer you both back to your minds and to continue healing Naruto-kun's body.'**

She nodded, although she still felt a bit nervous.

**'Now, both of you put a hand on my snout.'**

They did as they were told. Within seconds Hinata felt a warm, almost burning sensation run through her body. She looked over to see the red chakra she had seen before coursing from Kyuubi to her and Naruto. She glanced at Naruto to see that he was unfazed by the burning feeling that now had her flinching slightly. She tried to keep her face straight as her vision turned red. And just as she had entered, suddenly everything went black.

**Chapter six, scene four.**

Hinata groaned as bright light lit her eyelids red. She tried shielding her eyes from it, but a hand stayed hers. Another opened up each of her eyes and shined a bright flashlight in them.

"Hinata-chan, are you alright? Do you feel faint at all? You pupils are kinda dilated. Did everything go as planned in there?" Sakura's voice rang in her ears.

She closed her eyes tightly and sat up slightly. She opened them to see Shino, Shikamaru, and Sakura surrounding her with looks of concern. Behind them she saw Mitsuki, Eureka, Gaara, Nahara, and Tonji around Naruto's bed attending to him. Hinata could still smell fresh blood, but could tell that it came in lesser proportions. Shakily she got to her feet and instantly regretted it. Her head throbbed violently and she stumbled back from the pain. Sakura and Shino caught her before she could hit the floor.

"Don't force yourself Hinata-san. Give yourself a few moments to get used to your body again." Shino said solemnly.

Hinata nodded and looked up to see blue eyes staring at her. Naruto was awake as Mitsuki continued to heal the slash across his chest. She could see that the wound on his neck and stomach were healed. And that Kyuubi was busy healing his right hand. But as she looked upon Naruto's face, she saw no pain, no discomfort. Either Mitsuki had given him some powerful anti inflammatory, or he was a really good actor. Perhaps it was both.

When she felt her head stop throbbing, she went to get up again, relieved that there was no pain to accompany it this time. She walked slowly to Naruto's side and kneeled next to him. He smiled at her just as Nahara placed a thick wad of gauze on his forehead where the concussion was located.

She couldn't help but smile as well and something odd came over her. She felt like teasing the young man.

"Looks like fun. How're you feeling?" She asked coyly.

His grin grew wider and he chuckled, "Never better. In fact, I think I'm going to go for a walk."

She shook her head as she looked down at his broken legs. "Sorry, but that might be delayed for a moment."

Naruto laughed this time and glanced down at his legs as well, "Yeah, I guess you're right Hinata-chan."

"Naruto, you shouldn't laugh like that, or you might open the artery in your neck again." Mitsuki scolded as he began stitching up his chest.

Naruto smirked and shook his head slightly. "Yes mother." He muttered, earning a scowl from the medic.

Eureka giggled and continued wiping the blood and cleaning the wound on his right shoulder. Tonji had positioned himself at the healing hand, trying to clean the wound before Kyuubi could restore bone and nerve ending fragments. Sakura had come up behind Hinata and began working on Naruto's left arm. She saw Naruto cringe a little against her touch and figured that he was a little scared of humans. Which confused Hinata to know end seeing as he had been perfectly comfortable around her.

Gaara sat a little to the side in case Mitsuki needed his assistance. He smirked at his captain and said sarcastically, "You know, I'm rather envious of you. You're going to have a hell of a lot of scars to show off to the ladies now."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and couldn't help but laugh at the remark. Hinata giggled and looked back at Naruto to see him still looking at her. For once she didn't blush and she smiled warmly at him. A tap on her shoulder made her turn around. Nahara knelt beside her and gave her a strong hug that knocked the breath out of her.

"Thank you Hinata. You brought my brother back to us." She whispered loud enough only for her ears.

Tonji and Eureka joined in the embrace. Hinata had the strange feeling that Eureka had started to cry.

"Thank you Hinata-san. We are in your debt." Mitsuki thanked her and added, "Maybe you should go rest outside with the others. We can finish up in here."

Hinata shook her head.

"No, I want to help. Besides, I don't feel tired at all." She then proceeded to Naruto's legs and said to him, "How about I fix up your legs so you can go for that walk?"

He grinned at her and she began her job. She slowly tried fitting the shattered bone fragments back into place as someone would with a jigsaw puzzle. With her Byakugan, she was able to pinpoint the exact point as to fit them together. When she had finished with the one tibia, she focused her chakra into her hands and crushed the bones together while healing them into place. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Naruto cringe…huh, so he was just acting. With a twinge of guilt she moved onto the next tibia.

As they all continued to work in silence, Mitsuki finally asked a question.

"So Naruto, you gonna tell us what happened?"

Naruto blinked in surprise and his brow furrowed. "I…I don't remember."

Hinata stared at him in disbelief. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was lying. She glared at him discreetly. He caught the look on her face and read it like a book. He knew that she knew everything. His blue eyes got a pleading look in them, but it was gone as soon as it had come. Hinata looked away. She knew exactly what that look said. Please, for the love of god, don't tell them. She would abide by his wishes for now, but knew that everyone would have to find this out sooner or later.

Mitsuki nodded, completely oblivious as to what had transpired between them. "That's understandable. You did take a rather hard hit to the head. Just let me know when you remember anything."

"Will do Doc." Naruto muttered.

Mitsuki rounded on Hinata this time. "Did you find anything about this Hinata-san?"

Hinata glanced back at Naruto before she answered, "No, everything was pretty blurry. There wasn't much sound to accompany the memories either."

She watched as Naruto closed his eyes in relief. She reasoned with herself that he would tell them in his own time. At least she hoped he would.

**Insert end of chapter here.**

_How typical that Hinata would lie for Naruto. Hope you guys enjoyed this chap. It's probably my longest one for this story. Please review and tell me what you thought about it._

_Sorry that this took so long. I realize that I'm at the end of the fourth week of my five week deadline. I just couldn't bring myself to write the rest of the chapter the past two weeks. See, I just graduated on Wednesday and we had our last dance the Friday before and it was just really emotional. I've been with most of my classmates for eleven years and they're like family to me. It's just really hard saying good bye to them like that. So I've basically been wasting my time the first few days of summer crying over my broken heart and the people I might never see again. Because of the delay, it might take an extra week to put up the third chapter for 'decadence from jealousy'. I'm really sorry about that! I'll get started on it right away!_

_Love you guys! _

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter! Your reviews gave me so much encouragement that I started on this one almost immediately. Now that Naruto's awake (finally) I can get closer to the real plot and closer to the romance. Please review and tell me what you think of this one!_

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 7

It had been a couple hours since Naruto had woken up and most everyone had left after his wounds were stitched and wrapped up. The whole gang from Konoha had left except for Hinata and Naruto's team had left to leave him to his rest. So now the fluorescent lights flickered to a close as Mitsuki cut the lights and settled at his desk with only a lamp for lighting in the room. He was now enraptured in some huge textbook and he fervently flipped through the pages.

Hinata was sitting in a chair Mitsuki had provided her with next to Naruto's sleeping form. She watched his face as the light flickered from the pages being turned rapidly beneath it. His face was just as peaceful as it had been inside Kyuubi's cage, the only addition being the bandages for his concussion. She took hold of his wrist, being as his hand was still injured and she rested her head on her free palm. Hinata was just about to rest her eyes when a cough sounded from behind her.

"Hinata-san, I think you've done enough. Just go and get some rest. Besides, he's stable enough to leave him alone for the night." Mitsuki told her quietly.

Hinata sat up straight and shook her head. "No thanks, I'd feel much better if someone was here to treat him if his wounds open. Knowing him he'll try to do something on his own and end up hurting himself again." She added with a giggle.

Mitsuki chuckled and put a hand behind his head. "Yeah, that is just like him. Well, since I can't convince you, I'm gonna go turn in and this time in my own bed!" he left the room still chuckling slightly.

Hinata smiled as he left and got up from her chair. She stretched and moved to the desk that had Naruto's chart on it. She flipped through it absently and stopped at the newly added page that had his loss of memory written across it.

'Lost memory my ass. If he had lost his memory then I wouldn't have been able to see it.' Hinata thought to herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts when a deep voice sounded behind her.

"So, are you going to protect me from hurting myself then?" Naruto asked playfully.

She turned around and raised an eyebrow. "One, why were you listening to our conversation, and two, why weren't you sleeping?"

She saw Naruto shrug but wince slightly from his right shoulder's movement. Her face softened as she moved towards him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. Her hand began to glow green as she examined to see if he had done any other damage to his shoulder. She sighed in relief when she assessed he hadn't. But after her exam she still had her hand on his shoulder as she spoke quietly to him.

"You really should be more careful Naruto-kun. It's not good to over exert yourself after taking such heavy damage. You should allow yourself time to heal if not for you, at least for those that care about you." Her eyes avoided his as she uttered the last sentence.

Naruto's eyes turned dark and serious as he stared at her. He studied her and couldn't help but smile as he shook his head.

"How did a person like me ever deserve such great friends? Not only am I a monster, but I'm so weak to have been caught like that…" he whispered to himself.

Hinata's sharp eyes rested on his again as she chastised him, "And what exactly does that mean? You deserve happiness just like the rest of us Naruto! It doesn't matter where you get your power, but what you choose to do with it! That's why you have so many friends. You're not afraid to fight for who and what you believe in. You're strong and kind and I honestly can't see you hurting anyone. Naruto, you set examples that I think everyone should try to follow…and I admire that despite everything, you're willing to risk it all if it means protecting those you've come to care about. That's true strength…being able to draw power from your hardships and mistakes. Don't ever put yourself down like that…" she finished her small speech as she glimpsed at the floor.

Naruto's eyes had widened while she had been talking and they stayed glued to her form as she stared at the floor. The lamp behind her had given her an overshadowed look and enhanced her grimace that now adorned her lips. His eyes softened as his heart skipped a beat at that pained look on her face. His newly formed hand twitched and searched for hers. His fingers grasped hers tightly causing her to jolt and face him again.

"Thank you…Hinata-chan." He whispered as he stared into her iridescent lilac orbs.

Immediately her old blush dusted her cheeks and she cursed herself as she stuttered, "T-there's n-no need to thank me! R-really!"

Naruto's eyes sparked in enthusiasm as he replied, "Of course there is! You saved my life in more ways than one Hinata-chan! You're amazing, you know that?"

She made no response besides her blush deepening and her gaze shifting to their hands. Silence loomed over them for many minutes, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They were just enjoying the others company for the time being. But finally Naruto shattered the quiet atmosphere.

"Hinata-chan, you really should go get some sleep. You've been through enough today without having to babysit me."

Hinata sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I really wasn't kidding when I was talking to Mitsuki-san. You would end up hurting yourself!" she giggled as she added the last part.

Naruto rolled his eyes and muttered, "Thanks."

Hinata stared at him rather harshly before asking, "Why didn't you tell them?"

Naruto's face contorted in both anger and pain, and also had a tinge of sadness run across it. It took him a minute before he responded as his face finally settled on a morose frown. "I…I don't want to worry them, okay? And…I don't want them to think I'm weak. They look up to me, and if I told my teammates, it would crush them to see what this is doing to me mentally. Obviously I'll have to tell them, just not now…good enough for you?"

"Yes, for now. Just promise me you'll tell them soon? And I'll want some clarification on some of it when you're better." She said quietly.

He looked sincerely at her, and then nodded his agreement.

Hinata blushed realizing they were still holding hands. She released his hand and stood up to go back to the desk all the while saying, "You really need to rest Naruto-kun."

But as she turned to walk away, Naruto grasped her wrist and whispered, "No, please don't go. Stay with me?"

Her face still ablaze and her eyes widened in shock, she nodded dumbly at his request. She sat back down and watched as he smiled and his eyes drifted shut. His breathing became deeper as the minutes went by and Hinata rested her head on her arm next to their once again linked hands. A small smile graced her features and she lightly brushed her lips on his bandaged hand. After that, she finally gave way to her own exhaustion.

**Chapter seven, scene two**

Hinata woke with a start in a room she didn't recognize. The sun shone brightly through the window and lit up the grand bedroom. She scanned the room in all its glory: from the fine black colored wooden furniture, the huge vanity table in the corner, the lustrous curtains, the light purple walls, and finally to the man sitting near the door staring at her. She started as she saw him but relaxed when she recognized him as Tohru.

"Forgive me, Hinata-san, but Naruto-dono asked me to take you to your quarters and make sure no one disturbed your sleep." He said quietly. "I'm also to escort you to the breakfast hall once you're ready and to take you anywhere else that you request. The master's wishes were clear that you are to be fully rested after your ordeal yesterday and to take the day off."

Hinata nodded to Tohru, but on the inside she scowled. Why that little trickster! She could envision him sitting in his bed smirking to himself and then getting up to do whatever the hell he wanted! He was probably congratulating himself for thwarting her 'babysitting'! Still silently fuming, she got out of her comfortable bed and realized that she was in her pajamas. She blushed slightly and tried not to think of Tohru possibly seeing her without a shirt on and changing her. (god knows he'd probably do it if his master told him to! how embarrassing!) As she went to her bag to find her change of clothes, she found that they were missing. She checked the dresser and found that all of her articles of clothing had been folded neatly into the drawers. Again she blushed hoping that it wasn't Tohru that had gone through her bag.

"Your other items have been placed in your bathroom Hinata-san. Towels are in the bottom left cabinet." Tohru told her, watching her every move.

Hinata then noticed the door next to the window in the far corner of the room. She opened it and gasped at the large bathroom that it emptied into. Geez, what was this place, some sorta master suite in a hotel?! She whispered her thanks to the kitsune and told him that she'd take a quick shower before going to the dining hall. He nodded and left the room to give her some privacy.

The warm water spouted from the shower head and soothed her tense muscles that had knotted the day before from over exerting herself. She decided while lathering her shampoo in her tresses that she would take up Naruto's kind, yet somehow playfully irritating gesture, and relax. Oh, she would be sure to repay him back in some shape or form. When these thoughts raced through her mind, she stopped herself.

'_Why all of a sudden am I so flirtatious? Since when have I been able to be within three feet of Naruto, let alone hold his hand and tease him?' _Hinata then blushed heavily as her actions the previous day finally sunk in. She almost screamed out her embarrassment and mentally kicked herself. _'God he must think I did a 180 or something since the last time he saw me. But…I can't help myself. After seeing all that he's been through…I…I want to be close to him all the more…_'

While her thoughts strayed the water began to run cold and she got out to towel herself off. A few minutes later she emerged from her room fully refreshed. Tohru was leaning against the frame work of the door and nodded to her. He then walked off down the large hallway of doors at a brisk pace. Hinata had to jog slightly to keep up with the kitsune. They went down a couple flights of stairs, all of which were clamoring with kitsunes heading down for either breakfast or training. Finally after battling a small crowd of teenage kitsunes, they reached a pair of large oak doors and squeezed through the crack of a new onslaught of kitsunes.

The dining hall was huge with five long bench like tables. Chandeliers gleamed from above with a warm glow and tapestries of rich burgundy and gold designs surrounded the walls. The room was full of chatter, laughter, and an occasional growl or two and there was the constant sound of tails swishing across the cold stone floors. Hinata barely had time to look around at everything when Tohru had grabbed her wrist and drug her forward between the aisles of two tables. His grip remained firm as a kitsune girl pushed her roughly, muttering her apologies very gruffly as she continued on her way.

Tohru led her to the very back of the hall where at the end of the table sat her friends, Mitsuki, Gaara, Nahara, and the twins along with a couple people she didn't recognize. He said something about getting her a plate and left her to socialize. Hinata sat down next to Tenten and blinked in confusion as she, Ino, and Sakura waggled their eyebrows at her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, please, Hinata-chan, you know what." Sakura smirked.

Ino's eyes glinted, "Yeah, tell us the dirty details."

Hinata remained as confused as ever. She got a sharp jab in the ribs from Tenten and turn to see her smiling.

"Please Hinata-chan, you spent the _whole_ night with Naruto, Mitsuki told us. Well, that is until Tohru came and dragged you up to your room earlier. Something had to have happened right?" she gave another playful nudge.

She heard Eureka giggle a few seats down with two other girls and saw Tonji smirk next to his sister. Neji leaned in a bit closer along with Kiba and Chouji. Nahara and Gaara were trying to stifle their laughter and Mitsuki smiled and pretended to be interested in a nearby tapestry. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows expectantly when her silence dragged on and muttered something about 'troublesome girl'.

"Yeah Hinata. What happened last night?" Eureka asked as she tried to keep a straight face.

"I want to know what had my cousin so cheerful this morning." Tonji voiced as his smirk grew wider.

Hinata blushed violently making everyone chuckle. For a few moments she found herself speechless. They didn't really think they had done anything, did they? I mean, all Naruto and her did last night was talk…right? But, then she started wondering what on earth they could have talked about to make Naruto so happy.

"For your information, we didn't _do_ anything. We just talked no big deal." She muttered as she stared at her hands in her lap.

Some of the guys backed down after that obviously disappointed. But the girls remained relentless.

"Sure Hinata."

"Care to elaborate on that one girl?"

"You didn't faint did you?!"

Hinata raised her hand for them to be quiet. "That's really all we did. Just talked about, you know, stuff. And no Ino, I did not faint. I just fell asleep after we had finished talking."

Mitsuki chimed in his retort, "If talking is all you two really did, then why did I walk in to you two holding hands?"

This raised some eyebrows, had the girls giggling and shrieking, and had Hinata's face burn very brightly.

"Hah, I knew you were a filthy liar!"

"Aw!! Hinata!!"

"Is there anything else you'd like to add to that?"

Hinata didn't answer, only shook her head violently. By this time Tohru had returned with an assortment of fruits and morning pastries for her. He looked at her stoically and set the plate in front of her and sat on her other side. She thanked him and gladly began eating, only then realizing the burning hunger clawing at her stomach. As she ate, she could feel a dozen pair of eyes burning into her.

**Chapter seven, scene three**

Naruto lay quiet in his bed, thinking. His eyes were solemn while his heart wrenched in pain.

'…_Tou-san…'_

'**Kit…do yourself a favor and get over it. That man isn't your father anymore, not after what he did to you.' **Kyuubi's voice rang in his head.

Naruto didn't respond, but instead rolled over on his side till he was comfortable. He looked at his bandaged hand, his frown deepening.

'_Tou-san…what have you become?'_

His heart gave another stab of pain. He could hear the Kyuubi whine inside his cage. Naruto knew he was worrying his tenant, but he couldn't let go of the look on that man's face, the coldness in those sapphire eyes that reminded him of his own. All the while he lay awake he tried turning over the possibilities for Minato Uzumaki's actions, but he came back to that face, the last face he saw before he passed out. And when he thought of that face, he'd compare it to the face he would see in his dreams as a child, the memory of his first moments of life. And every time he did that, the tears would slowly pool around his irises, yet never seeing relief.

Kyuubi whined louder this time, slightly distracting Naruto from his never ending circle of thoughts. There was silence between them for a few moments. Finally Kyuubi spoke up again.

'**Something's been bugging me a little Kit…that vixen…what'd you say her name was again?'**

'_Hinata, remember? What about her?'_

'**Yes, that one…why wasn't she frightened of me? Frightened of you? She was rather pleasant actually, despite my rudeness. Never have I come across a human who wasn't afraid of me…save you of course.'**

Naruto thought to himself for a moment. _'I dunno. Hinata-chan's special like that, Kyuubi.' _His mind drifted to other things that made Hinata special. He stared at his hand again and could still feel the warmth of her hand in his. Naruto blushed when his mind wavered to the kiss inside Kyuubi's cage. He found himself missing the feeling of her soft lips on his and he almost whimpered at the loss. He heard Kyuubi's snicker echo through his mind.

'**Oh, she's special alright. I think you should claim her as yours before someone else does Kit. You don't come across a vixen like her very often.'**

'_Oh come off it. You know exactly why I won't ask her out.'_

'**Kit, you've already proven your worth countless times and it's obvious she's not afraid of you…almost painfully obvious. So what's holding you back now?'**

'_You know that too…'_

Silence once again loomed over their conversation. Yes, Kyuubi understood his jailer's reasoning. But he didn't have to like it.

'…**Baka…don't you dare come crying to me when this is over and you've pushed Hinata past her limits. They say love is patient, but they didn't specify at how long the heart could remain that way. If you don't do **_**something, **_**you'll lose her for sure.'**

'_Fine, whatever. But what do you mean by 'when it's over'?'_

Kyuubi sighed in irritation, **"I mean once you've killed Minato and the rest of Akatsuki. You don't honestly believe there's a loophole in this do you? The threat against your precious people is too great to leave alone. Stop your enemy before they play out their strategy, remember?'**

Naruto nodded numbly at this reasoning. He couldn't possibly deny it, on either subject. He'd have to destroy the Akatsuki, and he had to tell Hinata about his feelings. Still feeling apprehensive towards the latter, he turned on his back and stared into the bright light.

**Chapter seven, scene four**

The strangers at the table, Hinata learned, were the remaining three members of Naruto's new squad. Naomi and Kiara were the girls that wouldn't stop giggling at her while Kovu could have cared less about their earlier conversation.

Naomi had shoulder length chocolate brown hair that she kept up in a bun most of the time. Her eyes were a dark hazel that changed color based on her emotions. She was a well toned girl who kept fingerless gloves on constantly; it was easy to tell from a distance that she specialized in taijutsu. The girl was extremely likeable, given her tom-boyish, tough, exterior.

Kiara was the more outgoing of the group and reminded Hinata of the way Naruto used to act as a child. She kept her long, sunshine blonde hair up in a ponytail. Hinata found that her dark brown eyes would sparkle at any mention of shopping and other girl stuff of the like. She too, was very friendly and easy to get along with.

Kovu was another thing. Sure, he was charming, but definitely only when he wanted to be. His wavy brown hair almost completely obscured his steely eyes. Many a time when Hinata glanced over, he was staring into space with a frown on his face, making him look all the more grim. Eureka had told her that he had difficulty around humans but not to worry. He wouldn't dare try anything so long as they were the captain's guests.

Hinata had left the group to go explore the grounds with Tohru adding little architectural of landscape comments on the manor. The sun left a red glow on the foliage of one of the many gardens that Hinata lay in. Tohru was sitting next to her very straight, only talking when spoken to. Hinata lay there for awhile enjoying the scents of the exotic flowers and the sounds that came with the pond's mini waterfall. All of a sudden she sat up on her elbows and spoke quietly.

"So, Tohru, how long have you known Naruto-kun?"

Tohru looked dead ahead as he answered, "Fours years now Hinata-san. He's matured most admirably since then."

Hinata nodded. "Can…can you tell me more about him? What we missed while he was away?"

The kitsune took a moment longer to respond. His ears bent back in thought and his many tails swished behind him. "He has grown very strong since he left Konoha…both physically and mentally. Perhaps this is because he and the Kyuubi have become closer, both finding common ground with one another. My master is most strange…he always is the peace-maker in this household and in his own I understand. He has a quality that no one can have hatred towards him, despite his seemingly illegitimate decisions."

Hinata smiled. At least some things never change. "Tohru-san, why do you call him master? Isn't the Kyuubi your leader?"

"Aye, that he is, but we have found Naruto-dono to be quite competent on his own. I understand that the Kyuubi gives him tips on how to deal with so many of us, but otherwise, he does fine on his own. The master…well, he's saved my life many a time, thus I will serve him faithfully till I breathe my last." Tohru's lips twitched with a small smile as he continued to gaze out over the garden.

Hinata smiled as she looked up at his shimmering form. The sun burned brightly overhead as she fell back on the soft grass. "I'm glad he's been fully accepted since he left." She sighed.

The rest of the day was basically spent watching the other kitsunes go about their day. Many a time Hinata would see sparring matches in the courtyards. Most of the kitsunes she talked to were very friendly to her and she found herself enjoying staying in the demon realm more and more. She even found herself enjoying Tohru's company. He was gruff on the outside, but was a huge softie underneath. Their conversations correlated with one another causing time to past quickly and it was a surprise to Hinata when she saw the dark moon begin its ascent. She said her goodbyes to her guide and some of the kitsunes that had joined them and made her way up the flights of stairs to her room.

Sinking on the comfy bed, she sighed loudly. It was a good day, but was definitely missing something. She turned over to face the nightstand on her left and saw a key card with a note on it. She picked it up and smiled. Mitsuki had given her a key to Naruto's room because she was considered another medic. That's what was missing. She had to see him again.

Hinata stole quietly down the hall and stairs and went to the basement floors. She tiptoed down the hall of flickering lights until she came to Naruto's room. Quickly she ran the card through its slot and entered silently.

Naruto was up and reading, obviously not knowing she had shown up. Her mind gave an annoyed sigh at his antics. She coughed rather audibly to get his attention. Naruto whirled around and instantly wished he hadn't, as his back gave a twinge of its discomfort. In the process he dropped his book. His eyes were wide and he scratched his head.

"And what do you think you're doing Naruto-kun?" she asked him with a quirked eyebrow.

Naruto gave her a sheepish smile. "Going back to bed?"

She nodded her approval and dragged the desk chair to his bed where he was now lying down obediently. She was silent for awhile, not knowing what to say, so she just kept glancing around the room. Finally Hinata cleared her throat.

"So, other than you breaking the rules of bed rest, what have you been doing today? Have your wounds opened at all?"

Naruto shrugged and shook his head, not taking his eyes off her. She avoided his gaze and picked up his book. Her eyebrows raised.

"What is this Naruto-kun?" her eyes moved from the ninjutsu scroll to the blonde. She blushed lightly as she realized he was still staring at her. "Is there something on my face?"

Naruto smiled and reached for the scroll. "Never too early to train."

Hinata's eyes widened then narrowed. "Quite the contrary. You're too weak to do anything just yet Naruto." She sat down next to Naruto on the bed. "Please Naruto, you have to give yourself time to heal."

Naruto nodded and stared unblinkingly in Hinata's worried lilac eyes. His eyes softened ever so much as numerous thoughts ran through his head. _'She really is worried about me. Hinata's so beautiful when she's like this…'_ His heart gave an uncomfortable leap at this and he internally kicked himself. _'There's no way I can have her as my girlfriend…not now that my path has gotten even more dangerous. I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt over me and my mistakes…'_

Hinata obviously noticed his change in attitude and put a delicate hand on his chest, forcing him on his back. Her hands began to glow green as she checked the slash across his heart. She was leaning so close to Naruto from her studies that he could feel her feathery breath dance across the nape of his neck. He gave an involuntary shiver. He stared at her and gulped, praying she didn't feel that. But to his relief, she seemed not to have noticed, she was too intent on finding something wrong with his wound.

"Well, I can't find anything wrong with it. Any idea why it was causing you discomfort?" Hinata asked professionally.

'_Yes. It's because you're so close, yet so far away. I tell myself I can't have you, yet when I see you standing there, my body tells me differently. When will the torment end?'_ Naruto shook his head, both to rid himself of those thoughts, and to answer her question.

Hinata saw the pained look on her love's face and blinked in confusion. She leaned closer to catch his attention. "Are you sure you're all right Naruto-kun?"

Naruto blushed at her close proximity to his face. _'No I'm not. I can't be sure of anything when you're standing so close. Not when your eyes are so beautiful. Not when you're hand is resting on me. Not when you're lips are pleading for attention…'_

He found himself lost in her pale orbs and in a trance, begging him to lean closer. It was Hinata's turn to blush, but for the life of her, she couldn't look away from those blues eyes of his. He was closing in on her, yet she found herself frozen both from shock, and the desire of being kissed by Naruto. Thousands of things ran through her head, none that were coherent. Her eyelids drooped as she felt the heat of Naruto's breath mull over her lips. An electric shock ran through her as his lips brushed hers gently.

Then, as though he was slapped in the face, he pulled back, breathing hard and looking extremely bewildered. Hinata's eyes snapped clearly open and they both stared at each other.

"I-I….I'm sorry Hinata-chan!" Naruto stuttered violently and broke eye contact with her.

**Chapter seven end**

_Don, don, don! I bet you all are pissed at me now huh? I'm sorry for the wait, but for those who write fics, I'm sure you understand the effects of writer's block. _

_I've also had some stuff go on that has really dampened my creative mind. My best friend on this site lost her mother in a car accident and she herself is in a wheelchair now, and although I don't live anywhere near her and I've never met her before, my heart still aches for her loss. _

_Please excuse my long absence and more that are to come most likely. You guys are the greatest for being there throughout my writings to encourage and inspire me! Thank you all so much for your support! _

_Remember to review, but don't flame. Thankies!!_

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, I know I was evil with that slight cliffhanger, but I honestly couldn't think of how to stretch the story an extra 1000 words. I'm really glad you all liked it despite my last stunt . Now without further adieu, I give you the eighth chapter!!_

_Please note early on that I do not own the lyrics of the song this chap contains. They belong to their respective owner/owners._

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 8

The room was dark both from the lack of light, and the negativity coming from the person on the bed. Their left fist came down forcefully on the pillow that was now incredibly crinkled. The anguish in the air hung that like an infectious, aerial, viral disease. Though it was absent during the day when people came and went, nighttime was the only time for relief of these bottled up feelings. Tears of self hate pooled throughout the now dark irises of their eyes. The inhabitant of the bed gave a last punch to the thoroughly abused pillow.

Naruto fell down onto his stomach after he had released the anger of today's musings. It had been two days since he had seen Hinata. From what he had been told, she had been acting normal but was too busy to come down and visit. He knew better though. He remembered the look of hurt in her eyes. He remembered the slight intake of breath that came out as a choked sob. He remembered how she had excused herself from the room, saying that she had forgotten to do something. He remembered every slight movement, every expression, and every emotion that flitted through her body that night. And he hated himself desperately for it. Hated himself for the pain his abnormally accurate memory caused. Hated himself for the pain that _he _had caused _her_.

Naruto clenched his fist so hard that the newly sewn skin began to crack and bleed once again. How very much he hated doing this to her of all people. But how could he not? How was he supposed to protect her and keep her away from his enemies if she insisted on being closer?

"Kyuubi, what do I do?" Naruto moaned desperately.

'**Hey, you already know my thoughts on the matter Kit.' **The Kyuubi growled in his cage. Naruto's bad mood was finally starting to get to the mighty kitsune, try as he might to ignore the tidal waves of emotions that came billowing his way.

When Naruto did not respond, Kyuubi looked sympathetically through the bars of his imprisonment.

'**Kit……I understand that you're scared but……a chance like this comes maybe once every other lifetime. If you love her so much, then go get her. Worry about the rest when it comes.' **

Naruto pondered this for a few moments. But soon his thoughts were indeed led astray by the horrid things that could possibly be a part of the future. His heart gave a jolt and he shuddered at those thoughts. The Kyuubi winced as well at the very vivid pictures of various forms of torture that flitted through his host's mind.

The fox mentally chastised Naruto for doing exactly as he had advised not to do. He shook his head sadly and sighed. He knew Naruto wouldn't break his resolve easily. The kid was so obsessed with protecting the ones he loves that he only inflicted pain on himself in the course of achieving that. Kyuubi snorted and lay down in the pool of water on the floor. Sometimes he just couldn't understand humans. But he also empathized with Naruto. When you love someone…you cherish them and vow to protect them no matter the sot. When you're a leader, it's your duty and passion to make sure those you rule over remain unharmed. Naruto had the heart of a lover and spirit of a leader, that much was certain. But what Kyuubi could not understand was that Naruto also was a teenager. Isn't a teenager supposed to live life to its fullest? Aren't these supposed to be the years of making mistakes? And aren't these also the years to learn from those mistakes? Yet, Naruto, ever since he was young proved to contain that leader in him. He never let himself make mistakes…never let himself live his own life, only living it for others. Breaking free from Jiraiya training all those years ago was a huge step in finding his own path. Yet the moment Naruto had, he had taken on a different kind of training, had gained new people to protect. Kyuubi smiled to himself. Naruto was so much like his parents…

'**Heh, some things never change do they?' **He muttered to himself.

'_What was that Kyuubi?'_ Naruto's thoughts pervaded through the chamber.

'**It's nothing Kit.'**

They sat in silence while Naruto continued to look at the situation in a pessimistic view. Sure he was done fuming at himself…for tonight that is.

**Chapter eight, scene two**

"UGH! THAT COMPLETE RETARD!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE THINKING?!" Tonji yelled as he punched and kicked the dummy in front of him endless times. Meanwhile his sister was next to him screaming different text forms.

"IDK WTF THAT MOFO THINKS HE'S DOING! DOESN'T HE KNOW HOW MUCH THAT HE'S HURTING HINATA?! HE NEEDS TO FUCKING STFU ALREADY BEFORE I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!!" Eureka screamed at her own dummy as she caused chunks of wood to fall from it.

Gaara and Nahara stood watching their teammates with looks of both shock and sympathy. Shock that they had taken it so badly, sympathy for the dummies that they knew in Tonji and Eureka's eyes had Naruto's face glued to them. It had been a few minutes since they had filled the twins in on their version of events from the past two days.

The two had already had their version of things that already had them wound up, but Gaara's and Nahara's information had drove them past the point of no return. As they both mutilated their dummies, they stormed over to a closet at the side of the indoor training room and retrieved extras. Before beginning again, Tonji had stopped to stew for a few more moments.

Ever since two days ago, Naruto had been more cooperative with Mitsuki's suggestions than was of the norm. He was quiet, a definite red light, and immersed himself in books that he had requested from the library merely stating he was bored. Well of course the Naruto they knew loved to read, they would have thought him to be more interested in his daily visits of his team and his old ninja friends. Something Tonji had also noticed was the reining absence of a certain Hyuuga medic, to whom was to be thanked for his cousin's immense recovery and also holding his cousin's heart in a vice grip. In fact, they hadn't seen her very often other than breakfast in the early morning and dinner late into the evening. Otherwise she was busy doing god knows what seeming as she hadn't been here long enough to know of any activities. Even her 'body guard' Tohru had a hard time keeping up with her and all the places she decided to randomly go to. What was more, Tohru and Eureka had tried using the Sukei family connection to look into Naruto's thoughts, but came across many blockades. All they had caught were glimpses of Hinata's face, of how hurt she had looked in his memory.

Nahara and Gaara had become as suspicious as his sister and himself. They had tailed Hinata today hoping for her to let something slip, some reason that would explain her not visiting Naruto anymore, as well as correlate with those horrible pictures from Naruto's thoughts. They were lucky. They had followed her to her room, where they stood outside her open window. Apparently she had been keeping her composure for so long, that she had not noticed them, and completely broke down. All the while asking herself why she was so stupid, why Naruto had kissed her, and why he thought it was a mistake. When this was revealed, Gaara and Nahara had come to tell the twins of their side of the story. Thus this scene before him was the result: pummeling the utter shit out of the spare dummies in a sound proof room to let out some frustration. After reminding himself of why he was so angry, Tonji resumed his taijutsu.

Nahara sighed and slid down the wall of the training room and closed her eyes. Gaara sat next to her and put his face in his hands. They knew Naruto was infatuated with Hinata. Heck, how could they not know? Not only was it painfully obvious, but it really helped when he had crazy family members with a killer intuition for finding soul mates. They could also tell Hinata felt the same way, again obviously, and what they had been taught about soul mates from living with Naruto's family for a few years was that it was natural for two souls to be made for each other, that their love should be undying and unconditional. But something they didn't understand were Naruto's fears for Hinata's safety. Sure, he had a dangerous life, but what ninja doesn't? What jinchurriki doesn't? As far as they were concerned, soul mates were soul mates, find yours and live happily ever after, end of discussion. But their captain just didn't see it that way. He constantly put himself down and deprived himself of the very things that he deserved more than the average person.

Nahara opened her eyes and looked over at her red head teammate. "Mr. Matchmaker, we got to do something."

Gaara lifted his face from his hands and glared at her with his aquamarine eyes. "Would you stop calling me that? And what makes you think we can do anything?"

"Because we have to. If not us, who will? Come on Gaara," Nahara sat on her knees and looked at him intently, "love lives are at stake here! Total happiness will be lost if we don't fix this! Besides, we can just get the twins to help us, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help, if not get in a couple punches to Naruto." Her gold eyes looked at him accusingly and her lips remained in a thin line.

Gaara recoiled a bit at her smoldering look. His eye twitched as he realized the gravity of their situation. If Naruto and Hinata didn't get together, then everyone would be plagued with a more anti-social Hinata, and a moping Naruto. Great. Perfect. He rolled his eyes and scowled. "All right fine. Got any brilliant ideas?"

Nahara's look softened as she gave him a sheepish smile. "I was hoping you would actually. I mean, you do usually have the ladies fawning over you when we go out."

"But you _are _a girl! Shouldn't you know of how to soften Hinata up to anything?!" Gaara accused as he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh please, you really think I'm any good at this love crap?! I'm a girl, but I'm not a girly girl. Isn't that what Kiara's for?"

"Good thing we're here." Tonji and Eureka interjected. The two of them were leaning over Gaara and Nahara's little huddle session with looks of intense interest.

"Seeming as we're both good at the lovey dovey stuff…." Tonji said with a smile.

"And the fact that I'm a 'girly' girl is a bonus." Eureka finished.

Nahara looked back at Gaara. "See, I told you they'd be willing to help."

**Chapter eight, scene three**

Hinata sat in the shower with the water slowly flowing from warm to cold down on her. Her legs were hugged close to the rest of her body as she mentally beat herself up.

'_Of course it was a mistake Hinata, who would ever like you? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why do you have to get your hopes up every time you see him?!' _

She rested her head on her knees now as her thought process remained the same for the next couple minutes. And there was constantly that one question that would flit through her mind.

'_Why did he even do it?'_

No matter how she looked at it, she just couldn't understand why on earth he would do something like that. She had always been the wall flower of the gang, something no one noticed or appreciated. How could he like her? And even if he did, how could he just do that? Say he was sorry for something that she had been waiting for ever since their academy days? Another tear slid from her eyes mixing with the now chilled water running down her back.

But then, she thought as to why she refused to see him. Was it because she was afraid of the awkwardness? Or was she afraid he might pull something like that again? She didn't know the answers to any of her questions. But she had come to a conclusion tonight. She had to see him again. No matter how much it would hurt, she couldn't help but yearn for him. Even just being in his company was good enough for her. It would have to be in this situation. She knew she had to stop being childish and face him. Why not do that as soon as possible? This was why she was taking so long in her late night/early morning shower; mental preparation.

With her new resolve set in place, she stood up abruptly and cut the water off. A few minutes later she was dressed and climbed into bed and tossed on her side. She silently prayed that her old ways wouldn't return and force her into cowardice. Hinata stared at the room key on her nightstand for some time and didn't realize herself drifting between dreams and reality.

**Chapter eight, scene four**

Eureka was eyeing the doors of the dining hall nervously as she wrung her hands together the next morning. Next to her Nahara sat eating her eggs calmly and reading playing it cool, even though if you looked closely you could see her eyes flicker to the doors. Gaara walked over with his own plate of sausage next to the golden eyed girl and began reading over her shoulder. Tonji was off taking care of a 'problem' so that their plan could sound somewhat factual. While reading, Gaara couldn't help but let his mind wander to the broom closet that Tonji was standing guard over because an unconscious Mitsuki and Sakura lay among the cleaning supplies. He tried keeping his face straight at the memory. He looked up as his acute sense of hearing picked up Eureka's faster heart beat and by the look on Nahara's face she had heard it too. And it was obvious as to why Eureka was so nervous. Hinata stood at the doorway waiting for a group of gossiping kitsune girls to walk by.

"Oh, I don't know if I can do this, guys! What if I screw up?!" Eureka muttered frantically under her breath.

Nahara hissed her reply. Hinata was getting closer to their table. "There's nothing to be scared of! God, it's just a bit of talking, not an end of the world sparring match!"

"Morning." Hinata said cheerfully.

"Hi." Gaara replied monotonously.

"Hey Hinata." Nahara smiled.

Next to her Eureka was stuttering and twitching slightly. Nahara gave her a sharp jab to the ribs signaling her to shut up.

Hinata sat down with merely a cup of yogurt and a small bowl of grapes as her breakfast. She ate slowly and scanned her surroundings without really seeing them. A dream of hers had definitely caused her to have butterflies in her stomach. She was just thinking she should wait to face Naruto when Gaara caught her attention by leaving the table and walking out the door. She raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"It's okay; he just has something to do." Nahara said absentmindedly. She gave Eureka a pointed look before she too excused herself from the table.

Eureka bit her lip as she watched her teammate leave. She then took a deep breath and faced Hinata who was staring into space. She had slight bags under her pale eyes and her skin looked paler than usual. She cleared her throat and asked, "Are you okay Hinata? You look kinda sick."

Hinata blinked a couple times and shook her head. "Probably not enough sleep." She muttered. This was partially true. She hadn't slept much. The two of them sat in silence for a while. Hinata got up and threw away her trash and headed to the end of the hall. Eureka bit her lip again and decidedly raced after her.

"Hey Hinata!" Hinata turned around at her name. "Can I join you?" Eureka asked.

Taken aback, she stuttered, "Um s-sure."

They made their way through the halls and across the gardens not talking much. Eureka stopped after a while and turned to Hinata. "Umm, I have a favor to ask of you Hinata."

The Hyuuga blinked in confusion but urged her to continue.

"Well, you see, Mitsuki got sick late last night, so there hasn't been anyone to check up on Naruto. I was wondering if maybe you would go down to him?" Eureka asked tentatively.

Inside Hinata felt herself go rigid and her face flushed with both embarrassment and anxiety. "What about Sakura?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her all morning." Eureka smiled a bit.

Hinata definitely had not planned on this. This was a bit too soon in her books. But she was the only other medic……she nodded her agreement.

Eureka lit up at once! Her smile grew wider and she grabbed Hinata's wrist and started dragging her back up to the mansion.

**Chapter eight, scene five**

Nahara looked down with satisfaction inside the broom closet that Tonji was guarding. She had effectively knocked the two medics out again after they had come back to their senses. With the large bumps on their heads, she guessed they would be out for a long time. Nahara smirked and left the closet.

Tonji was standing outside and was grinning from ear to ear. "God, I love this job. Getting to hit that pessimistic man is quite satisfying. Especially after all the damn blood transfusions he had me doing every day." He darkly uttered the last sentence. "So what now Nahara?"

She leaned against the wall and answered. "Now Tonji, we wait to see how things go. And when I say wait, I mean wait till your sister does her part and then we can spy."

**Chapter eight, scene six**

Gaara walked briskly down to the basement medical facilities. He took out his key card and slid it through the slot on the door at the end of the long hallway. The light flashed green and he entered the room silently.

Naruto was sitting on his bed reading…of course. Gaara sweat dropped slightly at this. But upon his entering the room, Naruto had looked up from the rather large book.

"Hey Gaara. Why hasn't Mitsuki been in today?"

Gaara didn't answer right away. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and stared into Naruto's eyes. Naruto leaned a bit away from his subordinate's intense look.

"Mitsuki has fallen ill so he won't be in today."

Naruto raise an eyebrow. Since when did Mitsuki get sick? "Okay?"

"I came to talk to you about something Naruto." Gaara said quietly, trying to hide his smile.

"What is it man?"

"Well, I've been in touch recently with Suna and I need some advice…" He paused for dramatic effect. "My brother you remember him? Well, he's been having problems with this girl that he likes…being the son of the previous Kazekage, he feels that he might not be able to have a relationship."

Naruto looked seriously at his friend and urged him to continue. Meanwhile Gaara's thoughts were excited.

'_Wow he actually believes this analogy! Despite his maturity, he can be pretty dense sometimes.'_

"Well, you know how dangerous being the son of an important political leader can be. He's afraid that his enemies might come after this girl should they ever be together. I'm wondering what I should tell him to do."

Naruto thought about it for awhile. It was quite the predicament. "Well, I think that…if he loves her so much…I don't know, that's pretty hard…" he paused to rethink his answer, "Love doesn't just come by for a reason. It doesn't find you when you need it. It finds you because it was meant to be. But, I can't say for certain what he should do…if this is true love you're talking about Gaara, then he should go for it. Throw caution to the wind ya know?"

Gaara couldn't help himself. His face broke out in a smile and he nodded. "Thanks for the advice. Now I can tell him…" he stood up and smacked Naruto upside the head, all the while smirking down at him, "You know, you really should follow your own damn advice Naruto."

It took a moment for Naruto to register both the hit and the words. Gaara could easily read his captain's thought process after that. Naruto's head snapped in his direction.

"Gaara, butt out! This is different okay?!" he hissed.

Gaara glared back. "How so? You're just scared of losing her, but you don't realize that you're doing that right now. Hinata is really hurt about what you did to her a couple days ago."

Naruto's eyes hardened. "You don't understand how much more complicated this is Gaara! And how do you even know about what happened?!" he made a move to hit the red head, but his target sidestepped too quickly for him.

A beep came from the door signaling that someone else was coming in. Naruto quickly masked his anger and sat back down on the bed while Gaara smiled and turned to the door. Eureka and Hinata walked into the room causing Naruto to freeze in surprise. Gaara walked to the door still smiling at Hinata. When he turned to the hallway, he caught Naruto's eye and winked at him. Naruto grit his teeth as he stared after him.

Eureka looked between the two teenagers and sighed. "Well, thanks for helping Hinata. I would stay, but I promised Tonji that I'd spar with him." as she walked out behind Gaara, she glared at her cousin and waved her head in Hinata's direction.

Hinata was oblivious to all these signs. She refused to meet Naruto's gaze. She moved over to the chart and flipped through it to see his status so far. Hinata blinked in surprise at how much healthier Naruto was getting by the day. Taking the chart with her, and some supplies off the desk, she walked to the bed where she could feel Naruto's stare.

Naruto's voice wouldn't work for him as Hinata started examining him. He just numbly followed her instructions and he kept glancing at her. She looked like a mess. Her lips were stretched in a grim line and she had dark bags under her eyes telling him that she had slept little over the past couple nights. A pang of guilt flowed through him as he stared at her.

She did the standard checkup while he watched her. She checked all his reflexes first. Then she moved to see how tender his wound areas were. She questioned him about any pains he might have. After she had looked at everything she could without making eye contact with him, she finally raised her eyes to the concussion hidden behind his golden locks. With a shaky hand she brushed his bangs aside and started examining the slight indentation. Next she took out a mini flashlight.

"Stare at my forehead instead of the light." She instructed as she stared at his pupils. They were slightly dilated from the sudden bright light but everything else seemed in order. She turned off the flashlight and continued, "Now, follow my hand." As she said this, she moved her hand up, down, to each side and diagonally. She found no cross-eyed vision as his blue eyes followed her hand perfectly.

Naruto remained silent as Hinata jotted down her findings on his chart. He saw her hand shaking slightly as she did so.

"Do you want to try walking?" Hinata asked him.

This took him by surprise. She had been the one that was hesitant of him doing anything to rash. He nodded all the same. He was after all eager to get back to life outside the basement.

Hinata placed a shaky hand on his arm and helped him up. Naruto's whole figure was trembling and he stumbled a bit before she righted him. He kept a firm grip on her forearm and his eyes were wide with excitement. She smiled slightly at this. His grin was dazzling as he looked at her and before she could react, he swept her up in his arms in a tight embrace. Hinata blushed violently but let him hold her. When the blonde pulled back from her his eyes cast a trance over her. Both their smiles vanished as they stared into each other's eyes.

Naruto was the first to speak. "Hinata-chan, I-"

"Don't worry about it Naruto." Hinata interrupted him and looked down to the floor.

Naruto's eyes flashed and he held her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "No Hinata. I have to say this. You have to believe me when I say I'm sor-"

Hinata ripped herself away from him and whispered, "Just forget it. I don't need your apology. I should go now." She walked swiftly to the door and paused. "I'll see what Mitsuki's hold up is. Hopefully he'll be in tomorrow so you don't have to worry about me gracing your presence." Her words cut at him like icy splinters. The door opened as he stared after her in chock and pain. "And just because I gave the okay for you to walk doesn't mean you should over do it." With that, the door snapped shut and Naruto was left standing there, feeling suddenly empty.

**Chapter eight, scene seven**

Nahara and Tonji had joined Gaara and Eureka down in the basement and stood outside Naruto's door. They were listening intently to what was going on inside. With their acute sense of hearing they could listen to every heart beat, every strained breath, and every swift movement of chakra on skin. They stood shocked as the two inside tried making up…well, more Naruto trying to make things right than Hinata. As the door opened they jumped to the ceiling and hid in the shadows still watching with baited breath. Now with the door open, they could clearly discern Hinata's voice.

"And just because I gave you the okay for you to walk doesn't mean you should over do it."

Now it was Hinata's turn to make an appearance as she closed the door behind her. The four on the ceiling watched as she bit her lip and a single tear fell down her cheeks. She wiped it away harshly and stalked off toward the stairs.

From inside the room came the sound of cloth on the wall and a slight thump on the tile floor as Naruto slid to the ground. The four of them glanced at each other.

"Well shit." Tonji muttered.

"Didn't see that coming." Eureka shook her head.

"That could have gone so much better." Gaara put his finger tips to his temples and rubbed in an attempt to stave off the oncoming head ache.

Nahara frowned and her eyes darkened slightly in defeat. "Well, we can't do any good here if she's unwilling to talk things out with him…let's just leave Naruto alone now."

**Chapter eight, scene eight**

Naruto blankly stared at the door, his mouth slightly agape. It took him a few moments for his mind to register her words entirely and he slumped to the floor in defeat. He stared at the cool white tile not actually seeing it. His hands came up to his face and he closed his eyes with a sigh of frustration.

'_Kyuubi…'_

Said fox growled in his cage. **'Nu uh, what did I tell you? **_**What did I tell you?! **_**I told you not to come to me when you pushed Hinata past her limits. Well look there Kit, you got what you wanted. With her too scared and embarrassed to be near you, there's no way your enemies would suspect anything." **Kyuubi retorted scathingly.

Naruto didn't reply but instead nodded numbly. He had screwed up big time and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He didn't know how long he spent on the floor or how long he had been wallowing in his thoughts. Hours, minutes, seconds, they didn't matter anymore. He was a fool beyond compare for pushing her away for so long. Now she was out of his reach. At least that's how it seemed. But Naruto paused in his thoughts after awhile. She couldn't leave him like this. She couldn't walk away without a full explanation.

He wouldn't let her.

**Chapter eight, scene nine**

The next few hours passed in a haze for Hinata. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings at all or to what she was doing exactly. She hardly noticed the burning afternoon move to a warm evening and finally to a cool dusk. She didn't realize the loud talk around her fade into silence. She didn't notice her friends biding her good night.

Right now she sat in her room on the bed staring but not seeing anything. Her heart felt empty and her mind had stopped working in order to save her from further pain. She was in a bit of disbelief that she had said those things. But, she had suddenly become angry, an emotion that she rarely possessed. She was irritated that he had to bring it up, that he had to hurt her more by _apologizing. _Didn't he realize how _happy _she had been in those precious seconds? It upset her to think that it had meant absolutely nothing to him, and it hurt even more that she was still head over heels in love with him after so many years. She was angrier at herself than at Naruto. Heck, it wasn't his fault she found him so endearing. It wasn't his fault that after everything that had happened the past few days of being here, she still wanted to be with him.

Suddenly this room felt very stuffy and she needed to be away from this place. She had allowed herself to fall into her thoughts and now the pain was threatening to suffocate her. Why, why, _why_ did she have to love him so?!

She quickly strode down the stairs, through the different halls and past the large doors to one of the more private courtyards. Hinata sat next to the pond in the middle of the area of green that was surrounded by flowers and vines. The black moonlight cast an ethereal look on the courtyard. She could hardly stand it any longer. All the feelings she had tried suppressing these past days now came full throttle. Her breath caught in her throat as the first few tears streamed from her eyes.

_**Raindrops, fall from, everywhere**_

_**I reach out, for you but, you're not there**_

_**So I stood, waiting, in the dark**_

_**With your picture, in my hands**_

_**Story of a broken heart**_

In her intense desire to be alone, she hadn't noticed herself being watched. A tall figure stood in the shadow of one of the many pillars that outlined the courtyard. It crept closer to the shaking Hinata, and for a second watched her.

"Hinata-chan." Its morose voice whispered.

Hinata whirled around, her tear stained face shocked. Naruto stood before her, tall, dark and handsome. His blue eyes shimmered in the light and his face reflected how she felt inside. She had the impulse to run, but she was frozen where she sat, just staring up at him.

_**Stay with me**_

_**Don't let me go**_

'_**Cause I can't be without you**_

Hinata furiously tried wiping her face and whispered angrily, "I thought I told you not to overdo it!"

He ignored this and knelt down next to her. She flinched aside when he embraced her tightly. "I don't care about that Hinata-chan. I care about you though, and I'm sorry that I keep hurting you." Hinata was sure that he could feel the slight skip in her heart beat but he didn't give any indication that he had. "There's something I've been needing to tell you for the longest time. I understand if you hate me after I explain."

_**Just stay with me**_

_**And hold me close**_

_**Because I built my world around you**_

Hinata was so confused at this point. Not only were his words confusing, but her body wasn't helping. The urge to run was still strong and yet she was so comfortable in his arms at the same time.

"I…Hinata I-I……I love you. I've loved you for the longest time now, since we were Genin and I know you have too. You have no idea what you mean to me." He whispered in her ear.

_**And I don't wanna know what it's like without you**_

_**So stay with me**_

_**Just stay with me**_

Hinata's heart jumped to her throat and her eyes welled once again as all their times together on missions, all those times she had tried telling him her feelings, and finally to that last night when he looked absolutely horrified after kissing her flashed through her head. A sob escaped from her and with a sudden burst of strength she pushed him away from her and leapt to her feet at a flat out run. She didn't get far though. Naruto grabbed her wrist right before she went out of his reach and yanked her down again. Both his large hands clamped around her small arms and held her in front of him. She continually shook her head. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be.

_**I'm trying and hoping, for the day**_

_**When my touch is enough**_

_**To take the pain away**_

'_**Cause I've searched for so long**_

_**The answer is clear**_

_**We'll be ok if we don't let it disappear **_

"S-stop it Naruto. Don't lie to me!" she screamed at him. Sobs wracked her body and the tears dripped freely onto the grass beneath her.

_**Stay with me**_

_**Don't let me go**_

'_**Cause I can't be without you**_

"No! Hinata, you have to let me explain! I-I know I used to act stupid and pretend I didn't know your feelings. I tried making you see that I was no good for you, and I tried focusing on Sakura and hoped you would find someone else. Why? I was scared! I know that's no excuse, but it's the truth! Back then I came from nothing and you were a part of one of the most revered clans in the whole fire country! And, when I found out about Kyuubi, I was even more frightened that you wouldn't accept me either. I tried even harder for you to find someone else. Who ever heard of a demon being able to love?!" Naruto gave a weak laugh as he kept his vice grip on her arms. "I wanted you to have a happy life, not one tainted by me and my sins. I didn't want you to go through what I went through just because you were with me. When I went away for training, my love for you never faltered. I thought about you every minute of every day." He paused to cradle her face and wipe her tears away. "After my training, I finally felt I was strong enough, worthy enough of you. I found a family to be proud of. I finally thought I could be with you." Naruto smiled and gazed lovingly into Hinata's eyes. "But now I have a new reason to be scared Hinata-chan. Akatsuki is one of my greatest enemies and it gets even more complicated than them just wanting the Kyuubi. I couldn't bear if anything happened to you, couldn't live with myself if you got hurt over me…that's why I acted the way I did before. I was afraid to get close to you." He closed his eyes in shame before continuing, "But I was wrong Hinata, so wrong. It's too painful to keep pushing you away. It's too painful to stay away from you. I love you so much that I can barely explain it…but I understand if you want nothing more to do with me. I've done nothing but cause you pain and I'm truly sorry for that."

_**Just stay with me**_

_**And hold me close**_

_**Because I've built my world around you**_

During his proclamation Hinata's sobs had died but a new round of tears flowed as she smiled at him. The sincerity in his eyes was almost overwhelming. It took her a few moments for everything to sink in. This was real. This wasn't a dream. She had been dreaming of this day since her Academy years. Despite his fears, she couldn't be scared off. Not from that endearing temperament, nor could she be torn away from those hypnotizing blue orbs.

Hinata placed a hand over one of his own that still resided on her cheek. She whispered caressingly, "I love you too Naruto. Nothing could ever change that."

_**And I don't want to know what it's like without you**_

_**So stay with me**_

_**Just stay with me**_

Naruto gave her a brilliant smile and leaned closer to her wiping the remnants of her tears with his thumb. He whispered softly to her, "How about I show you what a real first kiss is like? Seeming as the last was just a brush of the lips and the time before I was only semi-conscious?"

Hinata blushed a brilliant red as he said this and he gave her that foxy smirk that made her weak at the knees. Good thing they were on the ground already. Her lips parted to speak, but she couldn't make coherent words come out so she nodded her head, all the while never taking her eyes off his.

His smirk grew wider and he leaned in closer. Her heart was now thumping loudly in her throat and her body gave a slight shudder as his lips brushed hers. Both their eye-lids fluttered closed as Naruto fully engulfed her lips with his own. She instantly had the reaction to kiss back. The electric shock that flooded through them was incredible but did not deter them.

_**I've searched my heart over**_

_**So many, many times**_

_**No you and I, is like no starts to light the sky**_

_**Our picture hangs out of tune**_

_**Remind me of the days**_

_**When you promised me, we'd always be**_

_**And never go away**_

_**That's why I need you to stay**_

For a couple minutes they kissed softly, but then Naruto licked her bottom lip begging for entrance, which in her book was guaranteed every time. His tongue massaged the crevices of her mouth making slow waves of heat course up and down her body and a small moan to escape from her. They finally pulled away for air and Naruto leaned his forehead against hers as he panted slightly. Love reflected in his eyes and had her kissing him softly a few more times.

_**Stay with me**_

_**Don't let me go**_

'_**Cause I can't be without you**_

_**Stay with me**_

_**And hold me close**_

_**Because I've built my world around you**_

_**And I don't wanna know what it's like without you**_

_**Stay with me**_

_**Stay**_

_**Stay, yeah**_

Naruto fully embraced her this time and buried his face in the crook of her neck while she brought her hands up to run through his spiky blonde tresses.

"I love you." Hinata breathed into his ear.

She could feel Naruto smirk against her skin and felt the burn of his lips pressing lightly to the nape of her neck.

"You know I do too, Hina-chan." He murmured as he breathed in her scent marking the combination of lilac and orange blossoms to memory.

_**Oooo oh oh oh**_

_**Don't leave**_

_**So I stay waiting in the dark…**_

**Insert end here.**

…_.Awwwww! That ending was so unbelievable I can't even believe I wrote it! I hope you enjoyed both the length of this chapter and the fluff ! Please remember to review me; I want to know what you think! And as always, I don't allow flames. And I want another inside chap poll just to make double sure. Put your answer in the review or pm me if you have any specific reasons for your vote._

_1. Keep it rated T_

_2. Change it to M-rated with lemons in the future._

_For those who haven't heard the song before, it's called 'Stay With Me' by Danity Kane_

_And by the way, for people who do not know the text used in this chap i shall spare you and tell you right now:_

_Idk I don't know_

_Wtf What the fuck_

_Mofo Mother fucker_

_Stfu Shut the fuck up_

_All my love to my loyal fans that have been there for me since the beginning! See ya next time people!_

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	9. Chapter 9

_Holla people! So, with all the encouragement from the last chapter, I couldn't help but start this one immediately. As for the poll, the votes have been drawn and I'm changing it to an M-rated fic! And let me tell you, I have the perfect ideas in mind! But you'll have to wait awhile for them ._

Betrayal Of Minato:

Chapter 9

The early morning sun cascaded down on the new couple as they slept peacefully. Sniggers could be heard from across the courtyard. A man and woman with black hair high fived while a teenage girl with golden eyes elbowed the red head next to her. Said red head flashed a smirk and gave her a one armed hug. Soon the halls around the perimeter of the garden began to fill and cat calls and jeering were echoing through the halls.

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion at the sudden noise and tried to rid himself of the grogginess. The petite girl in his arms stirred as well. She snuggled into the crook of his neck and her feathery breath sent chills down his spine. He buried his face once again in her dark hair and sighed.

A whistle sounded from not far causing both Naruto and Hinata to jerk away from each other. Both held identical blushes as they watched as a few handfuls of kitsune teenagers had gathered for some training and as Eureka, Tonji, Nahara, and Gaara were waving and winking at them.

As soon as Naruto got over the surprise, he glared at his comrades. He muttered darkly, "You four are so dead." He was about to make his move when a particularly audible thump sounded at his side. He head wheeled around and he gasped. "Hinata-chan!" He shook her and sweat dropped. Apparently the embarrassment was too much for her.

The twins broke out into hysterical laughter as they watched their cousin try to revive the shy Hyuuga. Then shrieks and giggles echoed around them as Naruto picked Hinata up bridle style.

"AWWWWW!!" KAWAI!!" the girls in the surrounding area screamed.

"Fifty bucks says that we become aunt and uncle within two years." Eureka said as she stared at the couple. Her eyes glimmered in excitement.

Tonji smirked next to her with the same look in his eyes and leaned close to her ear. "Make it double and we take it down to one year. You know how hard it is for soul mates to keep their pants on." He winked at Naruto as he said this.

Said blonde grit his teeth and shut his eyes tight in embarrassment and took off. Everyone laughed at the sight of their leader actually losing his composure.

**Chapter nine, scene two**

Hinata's eyes fluttered and she instantly held herself closer to the immense warmth next to her. Her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness of the room she was in. She registered dark red sheets, some of which she was encased in, as well as the very comfortable and very large bed that lay beneath her. The last thing she noticed was the blue eyes staring at her and the rock hard chest that she was crushed to. She blushed lightly at their close proximity and merely stared into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto broke the eye contact and brushed his lips against her forehead. She sighed at the touch and heard him whisper, "Are you all right now?"

Everything that had happened before suddenly came back to her and the lightheadedness was about to consume her consciousness once again when a callused hand lifted her chin and the chest she was encased in rumbled with laughter.

"Now now, stay with me this time Hinata-chan." He paused to kiss her for a few moments. Naruto pulled back and smiled softly at her and ran his thumb caressingly across her cheek.

Hinata's blush remained but her vision had cleared. She smiled back at him. "So where are we anyway Naruto-kun?" she whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"My room." His husky voice sounded in her ear. Her eyes widened a little at the implications and her blush deepened. Naruto continued, "It was the only place I could think of where there wouldn't be prying eyes." He held her tighter around her waist against him. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh. I-I'm fine." She stuttered.

They lay in each other's embrace in silence for awhile. The pale fingers of Hinata that traced invisible lines on his chest along with the even sound of Naruto's breathing had almost lulled the couple back to sleep when an unwanted interruption came to their attention; their stomachs. Hinata half smiled as she realized she hadn't eaten much the day before.

Naruto nuzzled her cheek and said quietly, "It's almost lunchtime by now. Should we go down or shall I have someone bring something up?"

The Hyuuga bit her lip. "We might as well go down. Better get it over with right?"

Naruto nodded and disentangled himself from her and the burgundy bed spread. He stood and stretched and walked over to put his shirt back on. All the while he did this Hinata couldn't help but admire the muscles that were placed poetically beneath his almost russet skin. She also couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness as she spotted many scars, both from his more recent experience, and from previous endeavors.

Hinata got up as well and fixed her hair a bit while standing in front of the mirror. There really wasn't much she could do about her appearance seeming as she hadn't had access to her room yet since the earlier hours of last night. She felt strong arms snake around her waist and spiky hairs tickle her neck. She saw the reflection of Naruto resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You ready to go?" he asked as he breathed in her scent.

She pivoted her neck to kiss his forehead. "Mmhmm."

He let go of her and entwined his fingers with hers as he led her from the room. The corridor was clear of anyone outside his door. Which was odd seeming as Naruto's room was on the ground floor. They walked in silence to the dining hall and Hinata started getting nervous as she could hear the loud clamor behind the huge doors getting louder. Naruto inched the door open until they both could squeeze through and stopped dead where they stood. As soon as they had entered, the hall had gone incredibly quiet. All eyes were on them. While Naruto stared back without fear, Hinata's shyer demeanor had her staring at her feet making sure not to trip and embarrass herself even more. They wound their way through the tables till they reached the one at the end where all the Konoha ninja and Naruto's team were sitting. Naruto left Hinata to sit while he volunteered to get food for them both.

Everyone stared at her for a few moments not speaking. Then Ino blurted out, "WELL?"

Hinata bit her lip and didn't say anything, nor did she give any indication that she had heard her friend.

"Spill it girl!" Sakura said as her emerald eyes glistened and she reached across the table to take a firm grip on Hinata's arm.

"S-spill w-what Sakura-chan?" Hinata replied meekly.

Eureka then smacked her hand on the table loudly making the Hyuuga jump slightly. "Don't give us that bull Hinata! Tell us exactly what happened last night."

"And don't lie," Naomi chirped from across the table.

"Because we all know you two were out in the courtyard early this morning." Kiara finished for her brunette friend.

Tenten, who was sitting on Hinata's left nudged her in the ribs. "C'mon Hinata-chan give us something. Please?"

Neji leaned in closer to his younger cousin with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Yes Hinata-san, I would be _delighted_ to hear what happened with you two_ alone_, and in the_ late_ hours of the night."

"Now Neji I'm sure they didn't do anything too rash. Hinata-san isn't like that. Besides, she's growing up now; therefore you don't need to be so protective." Shino said from behind his sun glasses.

Kiba sat silently next to Shino with his lips pursed. He gave no verbal questions, but he did look rather sour about the subject. Shikamaru and Chouji continued eating and listened with small smiles on their faces. For once Lee was actually quiet, only listening intently to the rest of the group's inquiry and so was Mitsuki. Hinata glanced wildly at them all, at a complete loss of what to say. It also didn't help that the rest of the hall was staring and listening in. Just when she thought she couldn't take the stress anymore, she was spared when the seat next to her was taken.

"Now guys, leave her alone would ya?" Naruto asked. His team of course complied. Sadly the Konoha nin gave no heed and started berating him with questions instead. Most of which were from Neji.

"What were you doing last night?"

"Did you defile my cousin?!"

Why did you take her to your room?"

"You did what?! I should kill you!"

"So, what, are you two like, together now?"

Naruto held a hand up to tell them to be quiet. "What we did last night is none of your business; No, Neji, I did not defile her as you put it; I took her to my room to wait for her to wake up; and Neji, we did not do anything and I would think Hinata would be rather upset if you did kill me. As for the last one, "He paused to look at the blushing girl next to him. He took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze before he continued, "if she'll have me."

Hinata looked up at him with all the love she possessed. She tightened her hold on his hand and whispered, "Yes."

Kiba's eyes hardened as she said this. His arms started to shake, but he managed to stave off this by pulling his hands into fists. Next to him, Shino raised an eyebrow, although no one noticed due to his sun glasses.

Naruto swept her in a loving kiss to which she returned. It was short lived as Neji cleared his throat and said through gritted teeth, "I would most appreciate if you would refrain from doing such things with my cousin in front of me."

"YOSH! MAY NARUTO'S AND HINATA'S BURNING YOUTH NEVER DIE!" Lee exclaimed.

Tenten giggled and said, "Aw, Neji-kun, don't be such a sour head. You just don't like it because you have to admit Hinata-chan is too old for your brotherly protection."

Neji avoided their gaze and muttered, "So what if I am?" This took everyone by surprise.

"Nii-san…" Hinata began. However she was interrupted by Gaara and Nahara sitting up abruptly.

"YES!" they both high fived as they shouted in triumph. Eureka and Tonji stood as well and started doing a victory dance while chanting, "We did it, we did it!"

Everyone scooted away from their ooc-ness. "Did what?" they all asked.

They ignored them at first. Gaara stood on the bench and proclaimed, "Bow down to my greatness!"

Nahara and the twins mocked bowed to him and said, "All hail Mr. Matchmaker!"

All the kitsunes in the room burst out laughing at this while Naruto and Hinata stared dumbfounded at the four of them.

"T-this was your idea?!" they uttered with disbelief.

"Well," Tonji began, "we had to make sure you two had alone time to work out your problems, so we devised a plan to get rid of the medics and to get you two to talk to each other." He finished proudly. Meanwhile Gaara and Nahara were wordlessly running their hands across their throats and silently begging for him to shut the fuck up.

A huge wave of killer intent crashed through the hall causing everyone to jump. Everyone stared at Mitsuki and Sakura as they both muttered simultaneously and dangerously at Tonji. "That was YOU who stuffed us in that broom closet?!"

Tonji's face was frozen in shock and he stumbled on his words, "I-it was t-their idea! T-they made me do it!" he said pointing at Nahara and Gaara.

Said duo had their jaws dropped. "YOU JUST CAN'T KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT CAN YOU?! SO WHAT IF IT WAS OUR IDEA?! WHO WAS IT WHO VOLUNTEERED?! IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU, SO HELP ME GOD I'LL DO IT FOR THEM!!" Nahara screamed at the black haired man.

"You are a dead man Tonji." Mitsuki muttered darkly as green chakra began to visibly form around the two tailed jinchurriki. Sakura cracked her knuckles and straightened her gloves.

Tonji screamed like a girl as both medics took off after him and he raced from the hall, kitsunes pointing and laughing in his direction. Meanwhile Naruto was staring daggers at his other cousin and the other two. Said trio started stumbling backward.

"Five minute head start."

Eureka kept backing away, "Really?"

Naruto stood and smirked so that his elongated incisors were visible. "Minutes, seconds. You know how I didn't pay much attention in math class." With that he took off after his team members out the hall.

Amidst the laughter in the hall, The remaining members at the end of the table gawked in the direction of the door. What surprised them even more was Hinata sat their _giggling. _

**Chapter nine, scene three**

After the beating had died down, the Konoha gang found themselves once again in the infirmary basement. Tonji sat on the floor with many bandages and swollen appendages apparent. Naruto had been quite merciful to the other three. They had merely a few ugly looking bruises, maybe a split lip here or there. Now Mitsuki had Naruto on the table, checking for any tears in his newly healed body. After checking that everything was in order he stood back and smiled up at his captain.

"Well everything seems to be fine. How did it feel being up and fighting again?"

Naruto shrugged, "Not bad, but I'll have to work pretty hard to get where I was before."

Mitsuki nodded and was about to put his equipment away when he spotted a calendar on the desk. He smiled again and turned to Naruto. "Would you like to have your physical now or tomorrow?"

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Today's October ninth, or did you not remember?"

"Oh." Was Naruto's only reply. Hinata came next to him and slipped her hand in his. She knew that his birthday wasn't exactly a pleasant day for him. It must be horrible to remember that so many things had happened on that one day, so many things that had shaped Naruto into the person he was today. "Umm, let's do it now."

Mitsuki nodded and everyone stared at Naruto. The blonde did as his doctor instructed, first by stepping on a scale. "You're a bit underweight, but that's to be expected. You were unconscious for awhile and Kyuubi's metabolism is extraordinarily fast. I want you eating a minimum of five meals to get that weight back." he jotted down the numbers on a chart before guiding Naruto to the wall where he took measurements. "Ah, you grew two inches while you were asleep. You're six feet tall now. I wouldn't be surprised if you grew to your father's height by next year."

Naruto kept his gaze down as he felt more stares in his direction.

"Tsunade-sama already told us about your father being the Yondaime Hokage." Chouji stated.

Naruto looked up in surprise. "What else did she tell you?"

Shino answered, "Nothing much. All she said before we left was about how you were sealed with Kyuubi and who your father was."

Naruto nodded at this.

"Can you tell us more? About your parents I mean." Sakura asked.

As Mitsuki continued his physical, Naruto agreed. "So what do you want to know guys?"

"Everything. What their names are, how they met and stuff." Everyone agreed with Tenten on this.

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips. "Alright, I'll tell you. My father's name as many people know it was Minato Namikaze. He had taken the alias once the rest of the Uzumaki clan had died out from war and sickness _(Please recall before I started this story that I was going to have Minato's surname be Uzumaki. As a reminder I do in fact read the Shippuuden manga, but for the sake of my story I'm making his surname Uzumaki and having a different one for his mother. I will ask you to refrain from putting in reviews about how I'm messing it up. Just enjoy the story, would ya?)._ He grew up alone a lot like I did with some help from the Hokage. He graduated at an early age from the Academy and became Jiraiya's student soon after. It didn't take long for him to advance in the ranks of ninja and before long he had his own set of students, one of them being Kakashi. That's his half of the story pretty much." He paused as Mitsuki had him inhale deeply and exhale a few times.

"What about your mother's family? Where did she come from?"

Since Naruto was busy, Eureka decided to continue for him. "My aunt's name was Kushina Sukei. Have any of you heard of the Sukei clan before?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "They were supposed to be the best demon slayers around. But the records of them stop abruptly in the Konoha library. I assumed they died out."

"Very true, we are a family of demon slayers and our history goes back millennia. However, there is a reason why Konoha doesn't have records of us anymore. We stopped making appearances around the Fire country for many reasons, primarily being that there haven't been many attacks against it."

"Could you tell us more about your history then before we get into Naruto's mother?" Shikamaru asked.

Tonji answered this time. "Sure. This may sound like legend to you but it's all true. I'll have to start at the beginning of the world then." He paused to gather his thoughts. "Although many people have mixed feelings about the beginning, no one can deny that we were created by some force, some entity. _(By the way people, I don't want criticizing about this in reviews either. Just go with it okay? It's just a story.) _Well, history goes that a God of some sort created us. But the story goes that there was another God, one that created the Bijuu. Many people refer such things as Ying and Yang, the good and bad halves of a whole. And for awhile all was peaceful. The human and demon races prospered for many years. But one day things changed. Humans were getting more spiteful and vengeful toward one another. Many wished to detach themselves and be proclaimed as supreme rulers and most would have done anything to achieve that. Thus, the Bijuu, along with their branched demon clans were put to the task of ridding the world of such evil intentions. For centuries things continued like this. And as the years went by and the demon clans grew more disbanded from the founding Bijuu, so did their intentions for the world. They now killed humans for a new reason; for that of the thrill of the kill and for bloodlust in itself."

Eureka continued for her brother, "When such problems arose many millennia ago, the God that had created our race had a plan. One very much like the privilege given to the demons centuries before. It bestowed upon a single man, who believed in bringing justice to the world, the power to bring redemption to those demons that use their right for their own gain. He was called a guardian to the innocent. Many people who had witnessed him and his new gift of ridding the world of disgraceful demons called him an arch angel of sorts. He and his descendants, the Sukei as they were named, have been handed the task of protecting the human race. An ancient clan of arch angels, given the task of halting the chaos and bloodshed between the two races, that is still intact today in their own village hidden away from a demon's prying eyes." She smiled at their awed faces. "When the ancients spoke of our ancestor's unbelievable power, they described bright white lights along with what looked like wings coming from him. Hence why we have been called angels in the past. In reality, the power they witnessed is what today people call a kekkei genkai. The village that was built by our ancestors is known as the Village of Heaven, both from its inhabitants, and where it resides on Earth."

There was a long silence. Everyone besides Naruto's group, who had heard this long ago, kept staring between the trio of cousins.

"Wow."

Tonji and Eureka chuckled at this. Naruto even gave a hint of a smile as Mitsuki was drawing blood for some tests.

"So, like, where is the Village of Heaven?" Ino asked.

"A stone that used to be very common four millennia ago had the properties of levitation. Our whole village was built on such rock and hovers over the earth and goes unseen by the cloud cover that we place over it. Many of our air ships have the same type of stone implanted in them so that we have a means of transportation to get to any continent on the world."

"Wow."

"Um, okay, so what about now? What about Naruto's mom?"

"Well, we have a pretty big family, most of which is involved in demon slaying except the toddlers and our cousins that are pregnant." Eureka laughed as she said this. "You could say the family is kinda cursed with having mostly female members. My father was the only son our grandfather had and Tonji and Naruto are the only boys out of the twenty grandchildren."

Jaws dropped as she said this. "Twenty?! So, you have eighteen girl cousins?!" Kiba asked as he pointed at Naruto. He got a nod and a sheepish grin as his only response.

Tonji interjected, "Yep. And the best part is," he paused to pinch Naruto's cheek, and effectively got smacked upside the head in the process, "he's the baby of the group!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and rubbed his now red cheek. Kiara made incredibly audible cooing noises earning a cold glare from the blonde sitting on the bed.

"Anyway, my aunt Kushina also happened to be the youngest of her sisters and brother. She was quite the prodigy and was inducted in Grand Master training, that's the term we call our leader, when she was around fourteen. The first time she met uncle Minato was around when she was seventeen. Her and my father were on business in Konoha. Our father was already acquainted with Minato and when she was introduced, it was like sparks were flying wildly around them. But that's what it's like for soul mates. Once you find yours, there's no returning to the old stuff. Now during the next few years is when aunt Kushina became Grand Master and Minato had started teaching the newly formed team seven. The two of them constantly said they had 'meetings' and 'technicalities' to discuss but we all knew that was a bunch of bullshit." Tonji winked before continuing, "Anyway, it didn't take long before they came before our grandfather asking for his blessing. Aunt Kushina was already betrothed, but who can say no to true love? Within another two months they were married and after a month of plenty of shagging _(lol, I love that phrase! Sorry I couldn't help myself xD) _we wound up withfox boy here." He finished with a smirk directed at his younger cousin.

After the torrent of laughter died down Naruto muttered sarcastically, "What can I say, story of my life…"

When the rest of the giggles died down, a sort of melancholy fell through the group. They all knew what came next in what seemed like a happily ever after. Or at least they got the gist of it. As Sakura tried asking for more Naruto shook his head.

"I think that's a story for another time Sakura."

"Alright Naruto, you're blood test results should be back in a day or two. Even though I've given you the okay it doesn't mean you're allowed to spar, train, or go on missions, even if it's only to heal or be a strategist. Just take it easy the next couple weeks." Mitsuki said, finally putting his instruments away.

Naruto nodded and got up off the table. Everyone filed out of the room and went up the stair well to the rest of the house.

**Chapter nine scene four**

"Hai Takeshi-dono. He has finally awoken and is on the steady road to recovery. Was there something else you wanted me to do?" Mitsuki said quietly into his cell phone.

"_After he is fit enough I want my grandson returned to me. It…it kills me being apart from him, but I know that he is safer in the demon realm then out there again……I'm hoping to give him more protection when he comes back to the village. Mitsuki-kun, just please make sure he comes home safe." _An elderly voice on the other end said_._

"Of course. We weren't there last time but now we're here for Naruto. Should I just contact you when he's ready for travel?"

"_Yes I think that would be best. Thank you Mitsuki-kun. Tell Tonji-kun and Eureka-chan I said hello. But….refrain from telling Naruto-kun of our…conversations. You know how stubborn he gets."_

Mitsuki chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't. I'll call you when he's ready."

"_Good day Mitsuki-kun."_

The medic hung up the cell phone and walked over to the rest of his team. "He sends his greetings Tonji, Eureka."

"Aw, I miss Grandfather." Eureka said with a slight pout covering her face.

Tonji sat next to her. "Me too. I miss everyone. But making sure this never happens to Naruto again is important."

There was silence before Naomi broke it, "So, why do you suppose they would leave him alive like that instead of just extracting Kyuubi?"

"Who knows?" Kovu muttered as he brushed his hair out of his face. "Maybe they just enjoy toying with our minds, knowing we're trying to figure it out."

"You know something?" Nahara spoke up.

Gaara raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"You notice that cold look in Naruto's eyes?"

"Well yeah," Kiara answered solemnly. "But wouldn't that be from what he went through?"

Nahara shook her head. "Yes but I think there's something he's not telling us. He knows more then he's letting on."

"That's impossible! Why would Naruto lie to us about something like this?! That's so stupid Nahara-chan!" Kiara exclaimed.

Nahara sighed but let it drop. She wasn't in the mood for arguing her part. Gaara stood silently to the side contemplating what she had said. Mitsuki was also in deep thought.

**Chapter nine scene five**

Naruto flinched again. He had decided to stay with his Konoha friends, but whenever they got too close, he'd step back a bit. It wasn't really intentional that he hurt their feelings; it was more a reflex now. He'd have to get over this quickly.

Sakura's face fell again. Why was he acting like this with her? Sure it had been awhile, but they were still old teammates weren't they? Was she losing Naruto just like they lost Sasuke? She snapped out of these musings when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Hinata leant close.

The Hyuuga whispered, "Don't worry Sakura-chan it's not you. Naruto just…he's been through a lot and is still a bit edgy around people. Let him get used to being around you again."

This confused Sakura but she nodded anyway. The others noticed the behavior as well but decided not to say anything. Hinata went over to Naruto and held his hand.

"Naruto-kun, I know you're nervous around other people after what happened, but you're hurting Sakura-chan's feelings. If you can't help it, why don't you just tell them the reason behind it?" she muttered.

Naruto's gaze averted hers and he shook his head. "C'mon Hinata-chan not yet. You saw how horrible it was."

Hinata was silent after this. She really didn't want to think about it anymore. The images were too severe for her. As everyone else had branched off into their own little conversations and a realization hit Hinata. "Naruto-kun, why are you so jumpy around everyone from Konoha except me? Don't I smell human to you too?"

Naruto's blue eyes glinted and he smirked, "Yes, of course you do Hina-chan." He pulled her close and buried his face in her hair to inhale deeply. "But there's something irresistible about your scent. I could never flinch away when everything about you is alluring." He continued in a husky voice.

Hinata's cheeks were dusted with a blush at his tone of voice. She smiled though and nodded at his reasoning. "You will tell them though, right? Soon?" she asked quietly as to not attract any more attention than they already were.

Naruto dropped his playful pretense and looked seriously into their eyes. "Yes."

Hinata decided to push her luck. "Tomorrow?"

Naruto's face faltered. "Well, not the way I expected my birthday to go, but sure, for you I will. That makes you feel better?"

Hinata bit her lip and shrugged. "I guess. You know I don't like the subject more than you do." She added sheepishly.

He leaned in to press his forehead lightly to hers, "Remind me never to let you in my head again." He growled playfully.

"Well forgive me then," she said sarcastically. "Are you telling me you didn't enjoy the kiss in Kyuubi's cage?" she gave him a wink.

By now most of the Konoha gang were staring at them with bewilderment. Where the hell did the shy Hinata they all knew go?! Neji fumed at this revelation and Kiba scowled slightly. This went unnoticed by the new couple.

"No, I'm not saying that, but I'd rather you not sift through my memories. They're kinda private ya know?" he gave her another foxy smirk and added, "Anyway, I think last night was far more exhilarating don't you agree?"

Surprisingly Hinata didn't blush and she immediately countered, "No arguments there. You _are_ a pretty damn good kisser."

He chuckled at this and dove in for a quick peck on the lips. "Why thank you, but you're not so bad yourself. It takes two remember?"

They were alerted to their audience when Ino shrieked in glee and Tenten and Lee holding Neji back from pouncing Naruto in his fury. Shikamaru and Chouji smirked at their old comrade. The idiot finally got the girl and they were pretty damn happy from the looks of it.

**Chapter nine end **

_Well there you have it! Finite! Finally -- lol. Please review everyone and look forward to Naruto's birthday next chapter! It's gonna be chocked full of crack humor, fluff, and sorry for those getting tired of it, a bit of angst because of well……that's obvious xD. Oh and for some odd reason, I have the urge to start a new story so I'm hoping to come out with that in the next few days. Look at my profile for a summary on it._

_Aight, peace! Pale rose out!_

_Hyuuga's pale rose_


	10. Chapter 10

Hi guys

Hi guys. Listen…hyuuga's pale rose wont be on for awhile and she is really sorry. Her mom grounded her. She is really sorry. This is a very good friend of hers if u were wondering. K then ttyl.


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